an almost absurdist acknowledgment that the planet is burning yet all we can do is just keep dancing
At long last, the debut album era of Gen and Degenerates is nearly upon us. The punk five-piece have been establishing themselves as one of the northwest’s finest live acts, consolidating quite the discography as they do so. Their upcoming record, ‘Anti-Fun Propaganda’, is going to be holding a magnifying glass over the state of modern life, in all of it’s glittering, apocalyptic, beautiful chaos.
‘Kids Wanna Dance’ follows on from these themes perfectly, with the band’s danceable post-punk undercutting lyricism wrapped up in existential dread; a nervous, building anxiety brushing up against a waining optimism.
‘It’s predetermined, it’s out of our hands/Might as well cancel all of your plans/And just dance’ declares vocalist Genevieve Glynn-Reeves in a manifesto of dancing through the apocalypse. Recent material from the band has seen them leaning evermore into a post-punk spoken word delivery, and Glynn-Reeves makes it work so well thanks to their vivacious and compelling delivery; theatrical yet slightly acerbic, self-aware yet without any shame.
It’s brilliantly evocative stuff, truly encapsulating the mood of 2024; not a nihilist depression, nor a defiant fight back, but an almost absurdist acknowledgment that the planet is burning yet all we can do is just keep dancing.
The music here captures that idea well, with simple punk riffs and light usage of glitching electronics to conjure up a sound that almost verges a little on dance-punk at times, all of it glued together by the ever powerful rhythm section of this band.
Between this track, and the past two releases from this band, ‘Anti-Fun Propaganda’ is shaping up to be a suitably fierce debut album from an exciting upcoming band. The end of the world has never sounded so catchy.
For Fans Of: Crawlers, Panic Shack, Paramore, Yard Act, Bonk!
Gen and the Degenerates’ new album ‘Anti-Fun Propaganda’ releases on February 23rd, and is available to preorder here.
Follow the band on social media below:
VINYL FANTASY REVIEWS 
Leave a comment