Search - Flux of Pink Indians :: Fucking Cunts Treats Us Like Pricks

Not about the music

Blasto | UK | 11/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Flux of Pink Indians' short musical career probably covered more ground in three LPs than most bands cover in decades. The album and EP on this CD marked their musical midway point (1984/5) and reflected a growing realisation that the anarcho-punk 'movement' was fast becoming the monster it had set out to destroy. The music was regarded as little more than entertainment by many and the politics had descended into an ideological ghetto of 'isms' rather than the resurgence of genuinely revolutionary anarchism that many had hoped for.

Flux's earlier music found on the EP "Neu Smell" (1981) and LP "Strive To Survive Causing The Least Suffering Possible" (1983) remains some of the best to come out of British anarcho-punk - lyrically and musically close to Crass, but more accessible. The records sold like hot cakes and the gigs were packed out, but while the message was echoed by the chanting crowds was anyone REALLY listening?

So we get to the tracks on this CD. Here was an attempt to move away from the sing-along punk anthem and put the message at the centre. Dealing with issues like sexual violence, this is not an easy listen, but that was intentional - this is not entertainment. It was never intended to be a dance-along, but a thought provoker.

This period marked the end of anarcho-punk in almost every respect. A few bands such as Conflict followed punk into the wilderness, while others like the Poison Girls and Chumbawamba moved into new territory. Most called it a day. The miners strike (and not forgetting the Battle of the Beanfield) had jolted most of us out of our comfortable ghetto and the latest round of rioting across the country was taking on a widening and more violent significance. The class war was in full swing and we were heading for a monumental defeat.



You may question whether this music was mistaken. Making it almost completely tuneless in an attempt to make the message central probably defeated the object - no one listened at all. But maybe that was better than having hundreds of drunk punks chanting out lyrics about rape and abuse without having a clue what they were on about.



If you are interested in the politics of Flux then give it a listen. If you're after another set of punk anthems as found on "Strive..." then just move along to the next band.



I should mention the final Flux venture "Uncarved Block" (1996) which was an even bigger a leap from anarcho-punk. A very listenable LP full of samples, melodic rhythms and few words, it gave strong hints of a wider shift in the UK. While punk had provided a soundtrack to a ferocious and antagognistic period of class conflict, the hedonism and distraction of dance provided one for a period of exhaustion, disillusionment and defeat. "...the knowledge that no amount of rage will ever remove the bars from the cage...". I've never believed that, but then unlike Flux, I'm still angry."

All on "1" 1 hour track!

Steve | Kenosha, WI | 11/28/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, this album isn't great. the guitars are noisy, you really can't tell what song you are on by not only because it's all one track, but also all of the songs sound the same. This disc can be boring most of the times but it's isn't the worst thing in the world. If you do put this album in your MP3 player, maker sure you call the file by the name of the album."

Beware

V. Crawford | Park City | 04/10/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I'm into all of the anarcho-punk movement but yet, this band fails to live up to the greats (Like Crass and Zounds.) I cannot enjoy much of their other albums, but at least there's more than one track. This CD fails to escape the cassette days. It has one track that is one hour long. Even through fast forwarding it I couldn't find any decent music on it. I immediately returned it and I'm sure if you buy this, you'll wish you could too."