Dead Pioneers: Wagon Burner
Are Dead Pioneers angry? Yes, they are. And on their third album, ‘Wagon Burner’ (out on 26 June via Hassle Records), vocalist and activist Gregg Deal comes right out and says so. With all the ferocity of the ‘70s and ‘80s anarcho-punk movement and centuries of systemic oppression fueling them, Dead Pioneers deliver a heavy-hitting batch of songs that tackle topics like environmentalism, racism and punching the teeth out of Nazis’ mouths.
Fans of early mid-tempo punk like Cro-Mags, Archers Of Loaf, Death (the Detroit proto-punk trio), The Stooges, Dead Kennedys and the ilk will find familiar comfort here, but that’s not to discount the fresh perspective that singer GreggDeal’s Indigenous heritage brings to the table. His background in visual and performance art shines through in his lyrics and vocal delivery, which is often closer to slam poetry than singing and injects the music with an elevated sense of passion.
“These words don’t sound angry. These words aren’t just words; they’re proclamations of hope, an inflection of righteousness”, Deal says during the intro to ‘Seeing Red’. In a way, these few lines sum up six decades of punk history. Detractors of the punk movement call it rebellious, anarchic, hedonistic, violent, an affront to society’s values. And in looking at various subsections of the punk scene, those descriptors are often accurate on a surface level; but true punk culture is about community, acceptance, humanity and a desire for a better world in which the outcasts and minorities aren’t vilified or victimised just for existing. ‘Never Alone’, which features The Interrupters, drives this point home with a classic sing-along chorus and an instrumental that’s sure to get the circle pit spinning.
If you like your punk rock political, in-your-face, and spitting mad, Dead Pioneers are here for you. They also deliver a healthy dose of post-punk, no doubt as a result of bassist Lee Tesche’s work with Algiers. Songs like ‘Seeing Red’ and ‘Nobody’ focus on spoken diatribes from Gregg Deal while the instrumentals sprawl and build underneath Deal’sincreasing aggression. ‘Animals That Roam The Earth’ is reminiscent of mid-’00s indie rock production (Kasabian in particular comes to mind), and even the punkest tracks like ‘Nazi Teeth’ and ‘Circle Jerk The Wagons’ benefit from razor-sharp engineering and production from Chris Beeble, adding clarity to the chaos.
‘Wagon Burner’ is living proof that punk’s not dead, and in fact is having one of the most fruitful moments in its history. Turnstile is winning Grammy awards, Knocked Loose is collaborating with Denzel Curry, the When We Were Young and Riot Fest festivals are getting massive attendance and bands like Dead Pioneers are keeping the spirit of the genre alive. It’s never been a better time to be a punk.