It’s a bit of a loaded title, Anti-Fun Propaganda. Almost makes it sound like Gen And The Degenerates know what they’re doing or something, eh? Well, they undoubtedly do; young bands with their kind of confidence rarely sell it so believably. That’s when further taking into account how they’re yet to attach themselves to a specific scene, or showcase nailed-on commonalities with singular bigger bands. It’s the benefit of flexibility in a kinda-indie / kinda-punk / kinda-post-punk space—there are plenty of directions to grow and opportunities to stabilise. And as an album for which ‘big statements’ hardly reads like a covert aim, Anti-Fun Propaganda is their greatest vault forward yet. It’s not by a small margin, either.
In fact, let’s go a step further—if there’s a tangible inroad for Gen And The Denegerates to solidify their presence in a wider rock market, this will be what does it for them. Their penchant for carrying themselves like the nationally-recognised name they’re pushing on has already landed Ross Orton on production for this album, best known for his work on the Arctic Monkeys’ AM. For a band whose breakthrough is still very much in its infancy, that’s a frankly wild get, and you really feel the impact on Anti-Fun Propaganda. This feels like this the work of someone much bigger, deeply churning away amid the post-punk revivalism of the 2000s, while also having the snappy, modern sensibilities to face forward.
On that train of thought, it’s a pretty appealing way to make a political album, and especially to do so and frame it in a way that’s its own thing. Frustration at the heart is evident, but as the title suggests, Anti-Fun Propaganda isn’t a po-faced screed that gets lost in the shuffle the second it’s over. There’s actual humour and levity, and Gen Glynn-Reeves’ mocking little voices they’ll sometimes put on to reinforce how out-of-touch an ideology opposed to having fun is on the title track and That’s Enough Internet For Today. This isn’t meant to be some hardline doctrine of political mobilisation, nor should it be. Joy is disregarded and dissuaded enough as it is, and recognition of that—whether that’s in women being harangued for insignificances that other women actually love on Girls!, or the corporatisation of making and distributing music on BIG HIT SINGLE—is a lane that Gen And The Degenerates find their best results in.
It also behooves a sound already sporting a mainstream(-ish) slant, that’s undergone a good bit of refinement for its first full-length outing. The element of straight-up rock around Gen And The Degenerates’ sound is dashed with thick basslines and a quality of punk that’s nebulous but recognisable. The title track is a great example, chugging away not too dissimilarly from a cache of 2000s indie that could afford to stray marginally off the beaten path of daytime Radio 1 ubiquity. The difference is, now, between a packaged, promotable social angle and some key gap-bridging features between indie eras, you’d have mainstream platforms salivating for something like this. There really isn’t a single song here without that potential. Eyes will be drawn to BIG HIT SINGLE, on those terms, to where its dance-punk throb and sandstone guitars can entirely justify those expectations set by its name. Elsewhere, there’s a stolid bass lurch that gives some real attitude to That’s Enough Internet For Today, further processed down into the New York post-punk stylings of All Figured Out or Post-Cool.
If there’s an issue to be found with all of this, it’s perhaps in how the mix doesn’t lend Gen And The Degenerates a bit more of the depth or tone they might want. If you’re expecting another AM from Orton, where every sound is draped in a leather jacket…well, it’s not totally out of the question, but more gravitas among that wouldn’t go amiss. There’s an enormous sound ready splay itself out at times, and the fact opportunities are so limited can hold Anti-Fun Propaganda back somewhat. At least the main moment does come to fruition on Jude’s Song, the six-plus-minute finale and tribute to Glynn-Reeves’ late aunt, to not only show off a beautiful singing voice away from the sass, but a more climactic indie maelstrom in the pianos and crashing guitars. This isn’t what Gen And The Degenerates should sound like all the time—not by a long shot—but you’ve got the basis for great individual moments to expand on with it.
You can trot out a similarly pat sentiment about Anti-Fun Propaganda as a whole, about how “there’s a lot of potential going forward.” That wouldn’t do justice to the efforts made, though. This is a fully-formed debut, right down to a central theme and way of expressing it, and to suggest there’s a conspicuous missing piece isn’t all that fair, honestly. Some production gripes aside, Gen And The Degenerates‘ ever-present process of building and drafting has landed upon the most solid blueprint for the future they’ve ever devised. Get ready for that big vault forward to see them land in a place where they’re nigh on inescapable.
For fans of: Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Wolf Alice
‘Anti-Fun Propaganda’ by Gen And The Degenerates is released on 23rd February on Marshall Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
