Down With Liberty... Up With Chains!

Chain and the Gang | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 7, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: K Records
• ASIN: B001T46U3M
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #290,039 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Chain Gang Theme (I See Progress)

2. Cemetery Map

3. Trash Talk

4. Reparations

5. What Is A Dollar?

6. Interview With The Chain Gang

7. Deathbed Confession

8. Room 19

9. (Lookin' For A) Cave Girl

10. Unpronounceable Name

Editorial Reviews

Review

Svenonius's "career has been a studied attempt to advance the history of punk rock, using influences as tools to build with rather than styles to flaunt and discard" --The Wire

Product Description

Ian Svenonius (Make Up, Nation Of Ulysses, Weird War) and his band have created sing alongs on this record; a call and response in the tradition of gospel tunes, work favorites, and the girl groups and vocal aggregates that once dotted the corners of the Mid-Atlantic states. This record is simple and profound, the way a pebble on the beach is. There are no song cycles, sample beats, sequencers, or baby pictures of the artist as a tot.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The style might change, but the song remains the same, April 23, 2009

By 

David M. Madden "nonnon/dj_webern" (salt lake, utah United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Down With Liberty... Up With Chains! (Audio CD)

Chain and The Gang is Nation of Ulysses, Weird War, The Make-Up etc. founder Ian Svenonius' latest punk outlet, and knowing his penchant for anarchy, this project is exactly what you expect: anything goes! Rooted in a learnedly-sloppy No-Wave aesthetic (I first mistook this for a 1980 re-release), Svenonius pushes his "I'm calmly pissed" vocal delivery over lackadaisical rhythms, studio clamor (i.e. background Greek Chorus style responses to his words), bored Blondieesque backup work (provided by a host of indie-rock greats), occasional horn bursts and so-simple-they're-cool keys and guitars. Svenonius still hates indie rock and explaining the obvious ("Interview with the Chain Gang"), Capitalism ("What Is a Dollar?") and loves conspiracies ("Deathbed Confession"), but speaks about the subjects in an incredibly clever way that's free from "Rip The System!" clichés. The style might change, but the song remains the same: Svenonius's 13-Point Program to Destroy America is still in effect