Despite the dark times the world is in, The Anti-Queens keep their minds clear through Disenchanted and accept everything life’s got to offer. Review.
DISENCHANTED – THE ANTI-QUEENS
Feminist from the top of their heads to the tips of their Docs, The Anti-Queens walk with their riffs forward and chin up on their new album, Disenchanted. If annoying, sad and even traumatic times are part of life and blur the illusion of a perfect world, the band also reminds us that there’s more to it. Sure, their anger is deep, and they’ve got strong ideas. But there’s also a great deal of optimism in this record. From their most punk to their most pop track, The Anti-Queens are pushing through with an intense, wild, and refreshing energy, in an industry and genre mostly dominated by men.
Apocalypse She is a warning: their hero is a free woman. She’ll not get in line and she’ll smash patriarchy. The chorus is infectious and the vocals’ texture is irresistible. Bulldozer follows and keeps that intensity up. In two tracks, I’m head over heels for them. Some tracks add pop to their core, like Love’s Heavy Burden, Overthinking and Freeloading, and are as convincing. They’re a settling point and balance out the ferocity of other tracks (Saviour, Dirty Girl, Doomed Again, Say What You Want). Yet, even when the lyrics get pretty dark (Disenchanted), something is boiling up.
For the pretty political Crusade, the band invites Tracy A of the feminist band Cross Dog. It’s an obvious slap, one of the greatest bangers of the record, and it’s followed by another: Owe U Shit. If this album is filled with religious-sounding names, it’s to bend them and get a clear message across: Disenchanted is The Anti-Queens’ freedom manifesto. On a lighter note, the band has another message with Magnolia. It’s ending it all: if the world is indeed pretty dark, it will get better. So, long live The Anti-Queens.
