Music Review // Voice Of Addiction "Divided States"

https://voiceofaddiction.bandcamp.com/album/divided-states

One of the first things you have to enjoy about this album- without even listening to it- is the fact that it's called "Divided States".   There is some humor but also some truth to every time I see something done on a federal level but not a States and I wonder "Aren't we the United States? That doesn't seem very United".   There are so many examples of this and the country just feels like it's at war with itself most of the time so how are we expected to help anyone else?  And this album, in many ways, is exactly about that.

Voice Of Addiction offer up songs that are punk rock charged with elements of hardcore, but they also have melodies.  Artists throughout this album that I hear coming out include (but are not limited to) Strike Anywhere, Propagandhi, Rise Against, Against Me!, Misfits and As Friends Rust.  Depending upon what your biggest punk influences are, you might hear something different and that's fine.  That's just timing.  "I Hate It" opens up like a song from a Go Kart Records band while "Bought and Sold" has that ska-punk sound like Suicide Machines and Operation Ivy.  

While "Divided States" is a politically charged force to be reckoned with, the lyrics hit just as hard as the music itself.  Now, I say this is "political" and on the surface it may seem as such, but in a lot of ways this isn't even political and it's just about human rights- the bare minimum of just wanting to be able to exist.   Far too often people mistake things such as cost of living as being political when it doesn't matter if you're liberal or conservative: you're still overpaying for a lot of human needs.

And I think (and hope) that people will listen to this album and be able to see that.  What this album truly represents in so many ways is the great divide that has taken place in this country.  They want it to be "Democrats vs Republicans" and so they create issues for us to fight about.  But really, the "Us vs Them" aspect of this country has always been the government and that 1% which corrupts it versus everyone else.   Voice Of Addiction seems to get that and by having this album out there I genuinely hope it helps more people to see that.