Perhaps I’m slow. I’m willing to accept that. But I just don’t get how, twenty-plus years into listening to punk rock, and especially hardcore, it still catches me a little unawares how much I like short, fast songs. It’s supposed to be diminishing returns, right? You can only go so fast, and then it’s a blur. All the fast points have been covered, and better, by the biggies, right? But once or twice a year, a band that’d definitely be aware of hardcore’s legacy tears right back into it, ripping pages right out of that history book. Government Warning’s not only fully loaded with razor-sharp playing and insightful lyrics, they’ve got so much controlled speed in one song alone, that if hooked up to a hamster wheel, would power a suburban home for a day. This makes me feel thirteen again, in all the cool ways (without the short shorts and such), and I’m hoping some kid just loses their shit to Government Warning just like I did when I first heard JFA, learning to ollie on my Variflex in my garage. Crazy good and I’m super glad this is coming out now, today.
–todd (Feral Ward)