On the Offensive

As the 2004 elections neared, many bands were getting out and letting their feelings on the candidates and the issues be known. Poster Children decided the time was right for a covers EP, and while it may not sway too many swing voters, On the Offensive is an impassioned antiwar, anti-Bush statement. More importantly to the less politically motivated, it is a fun listen. The band looks back to a golden era of protest songs — the late '70s and early '80s — for inspiration. Incendiary covers of the Clash's "Clampdown" (with bassist Rose Marshack handling the Mick Jones vocal part with aplomb), Fear's "Let's Have a War," and Heaven 17's "We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thing" leave no doubt as to the band's intentions. Their lilting cover of X's "The New World" shows that things never really change, and their cover of Hüsker Dü's "Divide and Conquer" is just a blasting great song done very well. The band sounds committed and full of fire throughout; the end of XTC's "Complicated Game" has them letting it all out in a cacophony of bitterness and volume. You could call this hipster karaoke, but that would be missing the passion, thought, and inspiration that went into On the Offensive. Lots of new wave revival bands have been playing the political game in 2004; Poster Children is one of the few to get it right.