Random Records with Steve O

Boysetsfire - While a Nation Sleeps...

So the other night Change the Rotation voted on the best records of the year. We had a bracket with 32 contenders, randomly arranged. This resulted in some interesting matchups and some early outs for a few heavy hitters. The biggest upset? (Well, it upset me at least.) Boysetsfire’s new record falling to Stomp, the new Big D & the Kids Table record.

While a Nation Sleeps… is the first record from the reformed Boysetsfire since 2006’s The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years. I had the privilege to see them in April 2013 in a small bar in Newburgh, NY. This was the only time I’ve ever met anyone else that liked this band, something I never understood.

At their roots, Boysetsfire are a melodic hardcore band. However, their sound ranges from raging blasts like “Everything Went Black” and “Far From Over” to melodic sing-alongs like “Never Said” and “Closure.” Lyrically, BSF cover radical politics (“The system’s dead and we spit on the grave / Let it fucking rot until nothing remains” – from “Until Nothing Remains”), though with a touch of hope, as illustrated by songs like “Reason to Believe” and “Never Said.” Adding to the songs are sound-clips of Charlie Chaplin’s phenomenal speech from The Great Dictator. They provide interesting transitions, especially since the sound-clips are not arranged in the order of the speech.

Check ‘em out, maybe you’ll like them and then I can have someone to talk with about how awesome Boysetsfire are. While a Nation Sleeps… is streaming on the Bridge Nine bandcamp here, while the inspirational video for “Never Said” is right here:

Regardless of whether you check out Boysetsfire or not, you should definitely watch Chaplin’s speech: