If there is such a thing as an objective music reviewer, I fall far short of the standard. Fine. Whatever. No one is buying an album because of what I write or don’t write anyway. Normally, that’s perfectly okay with me, but not this time. As the self-appointed president of the Men They Couldn’t Hang’s States-side fan club, I have a vested interest in getting as many of my fellow Yanks to buy their latest album as possible. You see, I want to scream myself silly at a TMTCH concert. But, that’s probably not going to happen unless someone pays for me to fly to England or the lads from one of folk-punk’s founding bands decide that they have enough fans in the U.S. of A. to play some dates here. In other words, I need more of you to be fans of the Men They Couldn’t Hang. No need to do it solely on my account, though. Do it because you love good music and the Men They Couldn’t Hang released an album for their 30th anniversary that should be counted among the year’s best.
A brief history lesson about the Men They Couldn’t Hang may be in order, though I’d like to think more of my fellow Americans are familiar with the band than I’m aware. But, just in case: The Men They Couldn’t Hang was formed in 1984, releasing their first album, Night of a Thousand Candles, a year later. The band’s first single was a beautiful and haunting cover of the folk-ballad “The Green Fields of France.” In 1986 the Men They Couldn’t Hang released How Green is the Valley, their only major-label album (MCA). This album features the song “Ghost of Cable Street,” which recounts the 1936 violent clash between the police and anti-fascist demonstrators. Over the years, the band has gone through some lineup changes and has released 14 studio albums and two live albums. Several of the band members, notably Phil “Swill” Odgers and Paul Simmonds, have released solo albums over the years as well as collaborating with other artists. 2014 marks the band’s 30th year of making incredible folk-punk.
Although The Defiant was financed through the crowd-sourcing website Pledge to commemorate the band’s 30th anniversary, this album is not the work of a band sitting comfortably in rocking chairs on their musical back porch as they reminisce about the good old days. In fact, with the opening track “Raising Hell,” the band declares:
Heave with a yarn, ho with a song
Mischief and mayhem are coming on strong
Hurrah my boys, you ne’er-do-well’s
Pull up anchor — we’re raising hell.
This is a fitting declaration, considering the folk-punk anarchists’ hard-partying reputation and uncompromising politics — no reason to begin taking it easy after 30 years. The pleasantly lilting “Scavengers” doubles down on the promise to raise hell and leaves no room for doubt about the band’s commitment to anarchic politics, with the confident statement:
And so we see your empires rise
And we shall see them fall
And through the dust you’ll see us come
Over you castle walls.
The songs “Fail to Comply” and “Hardworking People” are the band’s middle-finger to the establishment (a middle-finger that they have given quite frequently and joyfully over the last 30 years) and draw a line in the sand that many listeners probably aren’t willing to admit that they’re on the wrong side of. “What’s my name? Mr. Fail to Comply” is a punk’s business card that he or she snaps in the face of the company man while shouting, “They talk about work but the truth is that/Everything they got was from our backs.” Raising hell indeed. The Men They Couldn’t Hang prove that time hasn’t dulled their burn nor their ability to confront society with thought-provoking, witty, entertaining lyrics.
Musically raising hell need not steer clear of melodic, folksy, and interestingly varied music, and the Men They Couldn’t Hang continues to prove that they are mostly without peers in the world of folk-punk. Not only are the band members excellent musicians; they are storytellers who understand the importance of aesthetic unity and flow throughout an album. The Defiant will appeal to a wide range of musical tastes without sacrificing anything from either the folk ethos or the punk ethos. This is an album that is as much at home with those sitting, spinning yarns around a sparking campfire as it is with those marching down the streets with the echoes from their steel-toed boots striking the pavement, mixing with their angry chants denouncing injustice.
But, don’t take my word for it … actually, DO take my word for it and order a copy of The Defiant a.s.a.p.! In fact, order several copies and give them out as early Christmas presents and maybe, just maybe the Men They Couldn’t Hang will feel compelled to give me a Christmas present in the form of a state-side tour. If, for some reason, you are unable or, more likely, unwilling to take my word for it, go to the band’s website and listen to The Defiant a.s.a.p.. And, then, buy the album.
