Sound & Fury＜Yellow Vinyl＞

Youth Brigade formed their reputation as the band that organized the Better Youth Organization tour with Social Distortion, an experience captured on the 1982 film Another State of Mind. The film gave a picture of Youth Brigade as impassioned theorists, but was not especially helpful in distinguishing Youth Brigade's music from any other punk band of the era. Sound and Fury does a much better job, proving that Youth Brigade has enough musical talent to justify their prominence. The Stern brothers -- guitarist Shawn, bassist Adam, and drummer Mark -- are a superb ensemble who can construct nicely energetic pop-punk anthems. "Sink With California" and "Fight to Unite" are hopeful anthems of unity and action that are neither nihilistic nor simpleminded, as too many other punk songs of the era are, and are backed with hard-driving punk to boot. "Men in Blue," the standard anti-police rant, even incorporates rapping and hip-hop beats, something unusual in punk in 1983. "What Will the Revolution Change?" is the real standout, over five minutes long, and with an unusual complexity and thoughtful lyrics that sounds light-years beyond most other punk acts of the era. Not every attempt by the band works -- the anti-Reagan song "Jump Back" is too silly and unfocused to have any bite, and an updated cover of "Duke of Earl" falls flat -- but there is enough hard-driving classic SoCal punk to make Sound and Fury worth a listen. ~ Victor W. Valdivia