THE GO SET from Melbourne, Australia, release their fifth album with this self-titled record. Their last album came out in 2008 and bore the beautiful and memorable name “Rising“.
The Australians build on this album.
THE GO SET play their own interpretation of folk-punk, which means that big, catchy, sometimes almost broadband melodies hit the listener and quickly remind one of scene giants like Dropkick Murphys. The Australians have more punk attitude, but the direction is right. The band wants to shake things up with their songs, to put it mildly. They aim to reach not only skaters and punk rockers but also radio listeners. In their previous albums, the radio listener was not necessarily the focus, but as a singer from Rügen once said, “The revolution must come from the middle of society.” There is a lot of truth in that, as it is ultimately the masses that drive change, or to quote Ton Steine Scherben, “Alone they make you one.” Thus, this album is also made for people outside the scene, which is not a bad thing. Why shouldn’t the CDU-voting neighbor reflect on things as well?
This is already evident in the title track “Drums of Chelsea” with the following lines:
…Satellite communication, everyone talks at the same time
but no – one is caring to listen, except those ears
that are searching for treason.
The media spreads the words of campaigns, the government owns the TV screens
We didn’t ask to be born into this, ten thousand years has come to this…?
An ode to more humanity and more time.
The band appeals not only to humanity but also to the great upheavals in our society, such as in “Belfast Mill.” In this heartfelt ballad, the question arises of what the worker, whose factory has closed, should do now. The conclusion of the song is:
Too old to work, too young to die
…could be a slogan for those who still need to look for new work in their mid-40s.
Here, one can clearly see the working-class roots of the band. The thought of Flogging Molly is not entirely misplaced here, as this band also addressed the changes of the working masses in the USA with their last album.
The eleven songs on the album are all of high lyrical quality, which is mainly due to guitarist and singer Justin Keenan, who founded the band in 2003 and was previously active as a singer/songwriter.
With this album, THE GO SET may have created their best album, which is remarkable both lyrically and musically.
THE GO SET have recorded an honest album for more humanity, and for that, we must thank them.
