Call To Action E.P.

Apocalypse now! That’s the whirring helicopter sound that greets you from the opening of this the lead cut & title track Call to Action from the latest in the release schedule, a wicked up-tempo drum beat draws you from the door to the floor & it’s Stray Cat Strut guitar hook never let’s you go, I can see the floor bouncing to this for years (Don’t Let Go!) The Infomercial is under 10 seconds long, so by the time you have read this sentence it’s finished! Higher Call can be interpreted anyway you want it to, but which ever way you go there is little doubt that you will be singing along with the ‘Whoo Hoo’s’ & it’s a matter of fact that the backing vocals on this track ensure it’s the closest thing yet to anything from the band formally known as the Alarm, re-invent, re-juvanate, re-connect, somehow, someway, anyway, tomorrow or today. Rat Trap is one of the boldest tracks that the Alarm has ever recorded, with the White Trash Reggae vibe touched upon through previous Counter Collective releases and once again brings to mind the fact that this is still Radio Clash who else out there will pick up the guitar of Strummer and ensure the dial remains on the frequency, Into the Light kicks in with a marching beat and has staccato feet to pull you from one side of the room to another, dreaming, scheming, returning to glory road to drive fast forward, from Zero 2 Hero in one fell swoop, one four minute song, walk out Breathe understand that you can never go back, only forward, take that leap of faith with the band <>Walk Away And Be Strong sing the words, listen, don’t just hear them, Dub Police rips open the wound with the bandage ready to heal it over, 24-7, 365 days of our lifeit’s the flip side to the opener, the closure that makes you leave as you entered, smiling, once again, those jail guitar doors still clanger…

*Best Track: Higher Call

83/84 Revisited E.P.

Now, I hope you have a sense of humour and irony, because opener Reveille starts with that famous 3-4 & the declaration of sound that lives forever in the hearts of every Alarm fan regardless of when they got on this train bound for glory, it segways into 1983/84 where Mike Peters declares that there will be a piece of him forever in those years, you and I know how he feels for no matter if you feel the pain, the glory, lived the life, loved the joy, your year is his year, his year is yours, 18 or 85, be alive, remember what made you want to do this, imagine what that young chap would have said to you back then, then understand, nothings changed, we didn’t do it for the money or the glory, we did it for the Howling Wind can you feel it’s spirit. War Song keeps the feeling flowing, it has an ‘edge’ but not in an obvious way, it’s the boy becoming a man, taking all he can and opening the door to embrace the new world that’s the same as the old world, it’s for me, it’s from them, it’s for you, Badge of Honour is a song that I hope to hear live someday for it feels so right, so at home, so like a long lost friend, when I play it in the car, I feel my foot press harder to the floor, the needle rises, I go faster until I’m just rolling along in top gear with a top tune, singing loud, when it ends I want to keep on going, no fear, no brakes, just the passion, the dream, the belief, the fact that waters keep us worlds apart, but music brings us heart to heart, Love, Hope & Strength, we reach the end of the collective with For the Faithful to remind you that without the fans the band is nothing, without the band the fans have nothing, together forever from day one to days end, remember, rejoice, re-live every drumbeat, every guitar lick, every bass line, and sing loud every word, for yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever declare yourself an Unsafe Building stand In The Poppy Fields & most importantly of all Sound The Alarm

*Best Track: Badge Of Honour