Gay Black Republican--Ballet on Barbed Wire

Rock and roll leans heavily on its politically charged foundations -- always at the forefront of the next social or political movement. Ballet on Barbed Wire is undoubtedly influenced by political punk rock of the 70’s but possibly rides a fine line of mimicking its inspiration. The Cold War inflicted uncertainty and fear on music of that era and rock and roll responded with songs of anti-conformity, the hardships of working class, and the constant anxiety of a nuclear fall out. All three of these points are at the center of this record. The album’s title track follows the internal struggle of an individual attempting to define his self; an outsider defying the molds acceptable to society. This story line is truly dated. Present society calls us to be individuals and separate ourselves from the pack. There is no merit to conformity because of past social movements, which were arguably contributed to by rock and roll. Simply put: Why write a song about being different when it’s now hip to be unique? “P.S.O.P.” points out the social injustice of our Armed Force’s sole recruitment of blue collar youth. CCR already blew that whistle in 1969 with “Fortunate Son.” Our nation has deployed working class men to war since Vietnam, and this observation has already been beat to death. Track 7 of Ballet on Barbed Wire, “Pretty Nukes,” paints a world desolated by war through nuclear arms. It is unclear if this is a reflection of past fears or a bi-product of Fox News viewer induced terror. Either way the subject of nuclear war is stale and way too easy. That said, today is a new world and to perpetuate these ideals, injustices, and fears into the present is redundant and irrelevant. Yes, they still exist, but they are not at the forefront of this generation’s concerns. It calls to question whether Gay Black Republican is political because being so is “punk rock.” With such a clever name I would expect a fresher take on American society and politics.
Musically this record falls short as well. The guitar seems to be on another planet rhythmically, which could work if the drums and bass weren’t trying to follow behind it. The lack of cohesion doesn’t allow for much vocal melody and results in a choppy droning delivery. Another issue is the guitar track’s volume which is second in level to the vocals; the fact that it is off kilter and so present in the mix is incredibly distracting. But the mention of volume brings to light a larger issue with this record. Quality work was put into the individual recording of each instrument, but as a whole it just doesn’t mesh. Sonically everything hangs out in the mid-range giving no depth to these songs. Ballet on Barbed Wire is lyrically centered, but instrumentally no base has been provided for it to position itself on.