By Eleni P. Austin
The band Stiff Little Fingers has been a going concern since they formed in 1977. This is mostly due to the perseverance of vocalist/lead guitarist, Jake Burns.
The original trio of Jake Burns, guitarist Henry Cluney and bassist Ali McMordie started off playing in cover bands until they discovered Punk Rock. They took their name from a Vibrators song, and came together in their hometown, Belfast, Ireland at the height of the “Troubles.”
SLF worked their way through grimy Punk clubs and pubs until they signed with Chrysalis Records, who marketed them as Ireland’s answer to the Clash. Right from the drop they offered explosive melodies, coupled with politically charged lyrics. Original songs like “Suspect Device” and “Alternative Ulster,” called attention to the inherent violence of Ireland’s on-going civil war. They also offered a trenchant take on Bob Marley’s Rasta murder ballad, “Johnny Was.”
Although they cycled through drummers like Spinal Tap, SLF’s initial run from 1977 until they broke up in 1983 saw the release of four excellent studio albums, Inflammable Material, Nobody’s Heroes, Go For It and Now Then. They also issued an incendiary live record, Hanx.
By the late ‘80s the band had re-formed with Dolphin Taylor behind the drum kit. Before they could record a new studio album, Ali McMordie quit the band and ex-Jam bassist, Bruce Foxton took over for the next 15 years.
While SLF mostly made their living on the road, they sporadically released studio albums, (Flags And Emblems, Get A Life, Tinderbox and Hope Street) in the ‘90s that never quite captured the urgency of their early recordings. Henry Cluney left the band in 1993 and was replaced by Ian McCullum. In 1998, Dolphin Taylor quit and Steve Grantley took over drum duties.
Their last studo album, Guitar And Drum, was released in 2003. Five years later, the band was prepping new songs to record when Jake Burns turned 50. Taking stock and reevaluating his life, Burns decided his newest compositions felt very rote and “by the numbers.” He scrapped most of the songs, stripped a couple to their bare bones, and set about crafting a new album.
Without relying on a record company, Stiff Little Fingers partnered with Pledge Music and asked their fans to finance the new album. Within 12 hours they had reached their budget goal. By the end of the pledge, the band had realized 300% of their budget, allowing them to take their time in the studio.
Because Steve Grantley is the only Stiff Little Finger currently residing in the U.K., (Ali McMordie is in New York, Jake Burns lives in Chicago and Ian McCallum is in Los Angeles), they decided to make the album in the U.S. They scheduled the recording in January, so L.A. seemed like the most temperate location. The result is their 10th album, No Going Back.
A pummeling back beat and scabrous guitars collide on the opening track, “Liar’s Club.” The melody is a cosmic cousin to Neal Hefti’s classic “Batman” theme. All that’s missing is a few well placed “POWs” “BAMs” and “ZONKs”.
The lyrics are a cogent denunciation of George W. Bush and Tony Blair’s cozy complicity in the ramp up to the Iraq war. “You still stand there, repeating all your lies chapter and verse, and public opinion washes over you/You stand there grinning like a clown, while we stand watching so ashamed of you/You had our faith and let us down.”
Jake Burns’ power as a songwriter has always been his ability to wrap socially conscious lyrics in taut, hook-filled melodies. Like Mary Poppins adding a spoon full of sugar to make the medicine go down. He continues that tradition on four tracks, “Full Steam Backwards,” “I Just Care About Me,” “Good Luck With That” and “Since Yesterday Was Here.”
“Full Steam…” is anchored by thundering bass lines and a pile-driving rhythm. Crunchy power chords intertwine with darting rhythm guitar. The lyrics address the banking crisis that paralyzed much of the world in 2008. Millions of people lost everything while the banking industry walked away with a slap on the wrist.
“So you knuckled down until you lost the job, you ended up just another sorry sod/And all your money well it simply drained away, it’s the end of your career, now it’s over and you’re out on your fucking ear/And all the people who did this have gone away with a big payday.”
The sunny, Glam-tastic guitars and sharp martial cadence on “I Just Care About Me,” belie lyrics that lament the plight of the 99%. Burns rails against the privileged and indifferent 1%. “The wealthy ostracize us, close their windows, just drive by us/Hold themselves in high esteem, and don’t forget their mantra: “Me! Me! Me!”
“Good Luck With That” is powered by roiling bass lines, a breakneck beat and crackling guitar riffs that recall both The Sweet and Thin Lizzy. Jake Burns easily inhabits the skin of a venal Wall Street douche. “Gimme all your pension and I’ll make you rich/I’ll invest your cash for you, You’ll do what I tell you to.”
Propelled by a “Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” tempo and pin-wheeling guitars, “Since Yesterday Was Here” questions the efficacy of protest. “So Northern Ireland or Vietnam, pick your cause and make your stand and fight for what you think is right/We got peaceful protest once again, You can occupy Wall Street and Number 10 and they still won’t give a damn.”
Two songs, “My Dark Places” and “Guilty As Sin” are more personal. On the former, fleet fretwork and rubbery bass fills connect with a rock steady beat. Here Burns candidly explores his own bout with depression, acknowledging every day is a struggle. “The days look brighter now, yet I know someday somehow I could end up back there in an instant.”
Pennywhistle and strumming acoustic guitars gently wash over the deceptively sweet melody of the latter. The lyrics are a stinging indictment of pedophile priests and the Catholic Church’s role in the cover-up conspiracy.
Every song on No Going Back is a winner, but the two stand-out tracks are “One Man Island” and “Trail Of Tears.” Over triple-time percussion and Tilt-A-Whirl guitars, “One Man Island” offers a vitriolic take on our increasing insularity. Burns sneers and snarls, vowing to never “become a one man island.” The instrumental break is a take-no-prisoners combo platter of strafing guitar and walloping drums.
Finally “Trail Of Tears” begins slowly, as bagpipe-y riffs give way to Punky power chords and shards of feedback. Here Burns offers a bitter denunciation of the continued oppression of the American Indian. He also takes aim at America’s short-sighted views on immigration. Adopting the voice of the oppressed he offers this philosophical nugget to the oppressors. “Who checked your papers to build this country, Who gave permission for you and not me?/Think back on it, land is the land and it was always free, before you no one had papers, they would simply ‘be’.”
Other interesting songs include the easy skank of “Don’t Mind Me,” and the earnest “Throwing It All Away,” written by Ian McCullum. The album closes the blistering anthem of optimism, “When We Were Young.”
It’s unfortunate that Stiff Little Fingers has never been as venerated as peers like the Clash and The Jam. Both those groups were placed on musical pedestals way back in the ‘80s. Green Day will soon be inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, ironically, they have cribbed their entire sound from the SLF playbook.
Not only is No Going Back a contender for album of the year, it’s easily the most assured effort of Stiff Little Fingers’ career.
