Here’s a pretty little song – a sweet melody of laid-back country-tinged Americana. However, you might like to check the lyrics quite closely because then you’ll find that Austin Lucas is as angry as ever, and this manifesto for change also contains some biting criticism for someone who was only partly as impassioned as Lucas. Older listeners will hear an echo of the Jam’s “what a catalyst you turned out to be” in Lucas’ dismissal of someone who’ll “march together for the eight-hour day” but “when it came time to throw bricks through that Starbucks window you left me all alone.”
And if that manifesto sounds sort of familiar – well, that’s because ‘Baby, I’m An Anarchist’ is the first single from Lucas’ new album ‘Reinventing Against Me!’, which is set for release in June, which is a curated collection of eight of the iconic punk band’s hits – all in Lucas’ signature country style.
His last album was really good and, if you’re in or around London he’s on at a pub in New Cross on 5th May. He’s a talented lad.