Steve Ignorant with Paranoid Visions – When...?

While much of the music which dominated the UK underground in the late 70s and early 80s holds an uncanny sway over current trends, anarcho-punk feels more distant than ever – despite some key similarities in our political landscape. The title of this collaboration – between the former Crass frontman, and a Dublin outfit who followed in that band’s wake – would have felt like a call to arms in Thatcherite England, but now feels bitterly ironic, given the depoliticisation of ‘alternative’ culture.

Musically, When...? is mostly what you would expect: anarcho-punk always prided itself on immediacy and simplicity, and the urgency of the frazzled riffs, edgy leads and ranted vocals here shows that neither party have lost their rage. The lyrical topics have been updated – Log On /Bog Off attacks the age of government internet surveillance – but this remains an anachronistic, refreshing reminder of an age both less cynical and more angry. [Sam Wiseman]