Anti-Nowhere League
We Are The League

THE REVIEW

Among the countless UK Punk formations of the period, a band that didn't have an easy life was the Anti-Nowhere League. Often and willingly kept in the shadows due to a crazy and depraved attitude, they had to fight hard because of the few venues that allowed their live performances, all this mainly due to their heavy lyrics rich in unhealthy sexual references.

The A.N.L. never abandoned their hopes, gaining with a bit of ingenuity and publicity from their bad reputation a great reward of notoriety and success.

Their first release "The Street of London" immediately had a decent result from the public, but due to inappropriate and too heavy lyrics, the album was withdrawn from circulation. The band did not let this get them down, publishing their second album, "We Are the League," shortly after, an album containing the same tracks that influenced the withdrawal of their debut. If their first phase seemed difficult, the second apparently seems smoother. The USA became interested in the Anti-Nowhere League case, as did several European countries, so the band seized the opportunity to perform in various live clubs around the world. However, their lyrics continued to cause issues, and many of their concerts had to be stopped earlier than expected. The bad publicity continued to increase the band's fame, giving them an ever-growing and wild audience. The more the newspapers spoke poorly of them, the more the band achieved success. Trash music, total obscenity, the Anti-Nowhere League was getting everything they hoped for.

With "We Are the League," the band follows a classic punk-rock model without deviation. Magoo's guitar rhythms are simple and effective, rock riffs rarely garnished with poor bluesy solos, accompanied by PJ's drumming (one of the craziest characters in the band), not overly technical, but equally incisive and involved in its moments.

Animal, the singer, is instead the true madman of the band, egocentric, transgressive, dirty, and unruly, he has a good, hoarse, and personal voice. With his provocative look, he manages to engage the audience with songs that have remained in history. The musical side flows smoothly, but without particularities or innovations worth noting. Of greater incisiveness is the band's inappropriate message: drug abuse, homosexual references, pervertedness, and complete disregard for good education, all of which made this band cursed. I would transcribe some pieces, but I believe I might offend someone.

In the album, we find fundamental tracks for punk history like "So What", "Animal" or "Woman". There are no particular musical innovations, but what I assure you is that the album is not tiring, each song has its own particularity and there are no dead moments.