The third of four volumes drawing upon long out of print singles, discarded demos, and forgotten outtakes to tell the story of Britain's early-'80s
anarchist punk
scene,
Anti-Society
rounds up some of the lesser-remembered but nevertheless crucial lights on the scene.
Hagar the Womb
,
Oi Polloi
, and the immortally named
Thatcher on Acid
are probably the best-known names here, but they are by no means the very best. Excellent contributions from
the Icons of Filth
Karma Sutra
, and
Untermensch
have a compulsive power that cannot help but remind listeners just how vital this music was, both to its own time and place and, because its sentiments were so universal (and its enemies so all-pervasive), to the modern world. As usual, the music is accompanied by an excellent booklet, detailing the background of each of the featured bands with encyclopedic detail -- indeed, given the
scene's absence from any existing
rock
reference work, this series could easily be acclaimed as among the most crucial documents that
punk
as a whole has ever been granted. ~ Dave Thompson