The Lonely Revolts
Broken Bones Burning Hearts
Broken Bones Burning Hearts
Oi music has existed since the 1970s, a gang-vocal music approach growing out of the working class punk scene in the U.K. It rose to prominence as beer swirling skinheads sang its anthems, and now it seems this subgenre of punk rock is being adopted by Christians. One of the bands coming out of this faith-based Oi movement is The Lonely Revolts, with their hard-core punk-tinged anthems about freedom in and the returning of Christ, and their desire to share the gospel with everyone.
They pull no punches on Broken Bones. The record starts out with a solo at the beginning of “Extra, Extra,” which turns into an anthem you can sing along to, proclaiming “Extra, extra read all about it / the king is coming and I’m gonna shout it.” It’s followed by the record’s standout track, “Scum of the Earth.” It is an anthemic song, reminiscent of OFF!, one that boldly states things, like “Give me the trannies and killers / so you can stay in your ivory towers,” in reference to believers too afraid to reach out to a certain people. Burning through 13 tracks (“White Flags,” the folky “Falling Apart,” the ballad “Inside Job”, the ripping title track “Broken Bones Burning Hearts” were all gems), The Lonely Revolts delivers the gutwrenching cry of the working class Oi punk. The scattered production leaves the album a little loose; it could have been cleaned up and solidified I wish could’ve been solidified, some tracks just don’t flow as naturally as I would like, but hey, I guess that’s punk rock, for you.