Anti-Flag's punk is pro-pulsive

Joe Strummer is smiling in heaven. While taking many pot shots for their lucrative tours, Anti-Flag's a punk rock band whose music remains rooted in the past while their politics focus on the present and their sights are set on a brighter future. \nTerror State is by far Anti-Flag's most focused and mature effort to date, and it probably owes no small favor to President Bush's ongoing war on terrorism. Political artists thrive in time of social conflict, and the Bush administration has supplied them with ample fuel to stoke their fires. The entire album is a polemic against what they feel are Bush's crimes against foreign peoples, his betrayal of the American people's best interests and the unchecked corporate homogenization of the world economy. \nBorrowing heavily from The Clash and early melodic hardcore bands like Gorilla Biscuits, Anti-Flag has made an album of solid protest music that is honest and hopeful, offering a slew of dance floor anthems. Throw in a bit of dub for flavor, and you have the perfect road trip record for the next WTO protest.\nAnti-Flag's strength isn't in the ideology, but in the honesty, fervor and soul with which it's delivered. Power to the people!