Anti-Flag - 20/20 Division (RSD2021)
on Red Translucent Vinyl
20/20 Division is an expanded version of 20/20 Vision released earlier in the year. 'Hate Conquers All' is a very appropriate song to include Trump quotes. It is a good vitriol-filled way to start an album from 2020. It is great to write this late in the year, that this might be changing :).
'It Went Off Like a Bomb' is a good follow up, but things really hit their stride with the brilliant '20/20 Vision' and even better 'Christian Nationalist' (a top 20 song for sure on my 2019 H100). Not as many Clash-like moments as on previous couple of albums, but we get some with the upbeat 'Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down'. 'Unbreakable' is okay, but surprsied it was a single/pre-release, whereas 'Disease' really grew on me. It is a pretty accessible track with a cool quieter moment halfway through.
'You Make Me Sick' is quite similar and another easy-to-like song. Wedged in between those is the flat out 'A Nation Sleeps' - a song that should be among my favourites, but is not. 'Un-American' is a cool acoustic-led chant that continues a theme explored by NOFX and Descendents. 'Resistance Frequencies' is an interesting end to the original album. It has elements of Mad Caddies or Reel Big Fish with its horn section. (I would not be surprised if it was Reel Big Fish playing on this tune).
The first extra tunes include the anthem 'Born to Run' and frenetic 'Concrete Breeds Apathy' which both hit like angry Rancid songs. I have a feeling with more plays 'No Allegiance to a Flag' could grow on me: it is a typical Anti-Flag song. To finish, is another fast number that does not stand out and then the slow, anthemic 'Fight Like Hell'. An interesting end to a venom-fuelled album. I think these extras could just have been an EP. I think they drag the album out as a whole. Still, there are a lot of songs here that I really liked. Times like we live in provide a lot of fuel for bands like this that wear their politics and moral stances on their sleeves
A1 Hate Conquers All
A2 It Went Off Like A Bomb
A3 20/20 Vision
A4 Christian Nationalist
A5 Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down
A6 Unbreakable
A7 The Disease
A8 A Nation Sleeps
B1 You Make Me Sick
B2 Un-American
B3 Resistance Frequencies
B4 Born To Run
B5 Concrete Breeds Apathy
B6 No Allegiance To A Flag
B7 No One Can Save Yourself But You
B8 Fight Like Hell