by Ross Holder (@RossHolder8)
Anarcho-punk outfit Bad Breeding are back with their fourth full-length release, Human Capital, through One Little Independent Records and Iron Lung Records. The album is chalked with aggressive layers of sound wrapped up in lyrics that address societal problems which have been ushered in through years of suffering under capitalism. Bad Breeding are shouting about the power of community and the dangers that individualism can inflict upon an already desperate working class. This mirrors the latest essay written by the band’s collaborator and friend, Jake Farrell (included with the purchase of the record), where Farrell cleverly explains how contentment and security aren’t achieved by centering the self but instead through participating in collective action to fight back against the ruling classes who benefit from a weakened community who are isolated from each other. Isolation is an important weapon in the arsenal of the establishment allowing them to successfully stagnate wages, raise the cost of living and reap the rewards of people’s labour. Although the truthful reality hits you like a punch in the face, there are moments of hope and Bad Breeding have not left us wallowing in the current situation but have contributed a powerful message of solidarity and have released an album that articulates well-thought-out ideas that are very much welcome.
The first track on the record, aptly named “Community,” begins with a snarling bass line before a burst of wailing dissonant guitars attack the senses, jumping in and out during the song. The lead guitar lines personify the harshness that an isolated society induces. Between the brutal delivery of the vocals, Chris Dodd finishes the song with a vision, one of optimism where the people can rise above the ‘slag heap’ and ‘even the score’. “Joyride” is a strong, driven number that is pounded onwards by the hectic drums and distorted bass. There is a wave of raw anger, which can be heard throughout the album, and the song mentions the band’s own New Town experience. Hailing from Stevenage, a post-war New Town, like many others around the country, have been left behind. The squealing guitar throughout the track adds dissonance and keeps the pace marching on. Dodd doesn’t leave you with a pessimistic situation and suggests a brighter future for New Towns’ which can be achieved by power through collective labour.
There is a lot to unpack in “Misdirection,” the aggressive vocals and industrial guitars do not relent. There is anger directed at the rhetoric that is used to convince working-class people to join the military and die, ‘They spilled the flair of former glories, glints of shining victories’. Frustration is felt that people fall for that idea, ‘as if the crowning joy of life was to dress your body in her flag’ only to be used as cannon fodder when the time comes. “Arc Eye” and “Human Capital,” thematically, follow Farrell’s essay very closely. The title track is almost five minutes in length and there are a lot of post-punk touches throughout, the tempo is dropped and Dodd’s vocals are more exposed. If the first two tracks on the album have some glimmers of hope and a route out, “Human Capital” explicitly, angrily puts across the dehumanization of capitalism.
Nationalism and Imperialism are deconstructed in “Nostalgia Trip,” which is particularly relevant considering Britain’s history of imperialism and colonialism across the world. “Nostalgia Trip” expands on the points raised in “Misdirection” that war only exists to bolster the bank accounts of the rich. War is on the agenda of a lot of the songs on the second half of the album, none more obviously so than “Death March”. Although discussing a heavy topic, “Death March” is a really enjoyable song which is over in a flash, quite basic in structure as it hits all the right spots you want from a hardcore song. The band leave us with “Rebuilding,” the longest song on the record. It is exact in its drum beat, industrial in sound effects, and ends with squealing feedback which gives the listener time to contemplate the 34 minutes and 50 seconds that have passed.
Bad Breeding delivers an album that is timely in its appearance, there are a lot of people struggling not only in the UK but the world over failed by the Conservative plutocracy and isolated in their own communities. Human Capital offers an angry manifesto, of sorts, and some legitimate solutions to raise people out of the current desperate situation and to encourage collectivism, delivered by screaming vocals, heavy bass lines, and screeching guitar.