Freedom

Refused is one of my favourite bands ever. A lot of this has to do with nostalgia. They were one of the first bands I to know when I first go into hardcore. This was some time after The Shape Of Punk To Come had come out and New Noise was one of the songs regularly played in this indie club I used to go to. I loved that song and the whole LP. Then I discovered their earlier records, which blew me equally away. 15 years later I still enjoy these records on a regular basis. Back then I would have given an arm and a leg to travel back in time to see them live or to hear new material. A few years ago Refused announced they weren't dead anymore, which should have been all the reason in the world for me to get excited, but seeing which kind of shows they were going to play, my enthusiasm went away rather quickly. I guess 'rather be forgotten than giving in' was just an empty slogan after all. I never went to see any of their shows but continued to listen to their records and watch old video footage so I could keep the image I had in my head.
A few weeks ago someone posted on Instagram that the pre-orders for a new Refused LP had just gone up. I didn't have the faintest idea that hey had been working on a new record and I wasn't overly excited I have to admit, but I quickly succumbed to my curiosity what the new songs might sound like. A decision I quickly became to rue. I'm still not sure which record is the bigger disappointment, the latest Ceremony LP or this one. I hadn't really expected a record in the vein of Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent and I was pretty sure that they weren't going to replicate their seminal album TSOPTC, but Freedom is just plain bad. I don't even know where to start, but I guess what's bugging me the most is that I don't hear the same anger and urgency I loved on their releases from the 90's. Huge, huge bummer.