Incendiary Pittsburgh punk rockers ANTI-FLAG will release their 13th album Lies They Tell Our Children on January 6 via Spinefarm. Pre-order it here. Today, the quartet has shared “LAUGH. CRY. SMILE. DIE.,” featuring Silverstein‘s Shane Told. Watch it below. The video was lensed by INDECLINE Activist Art Collective.
The song takes a deep, hard look at climate change. Click here for the lyrics and the essay behind the song.
“Look, this is our 13th album,” the band declares. “There’s no other way to put it; Lies They Tell Our Children is the best fucking version of Anti-Flag we have ever been. We haven’t been afforded the privilege and ability to spend every day together writing and focusing on every detail of an album in well over a decade and I think you can feel that collaboration and collectiveness in these songs more than any other record of ours. That collaboration was only extrapolated on with the inclusion of the eight guests who are featured on the album, spanning genres, years of friendship, and a vast array of perspectives.”
A-F continue, “The album itself is the first conceptual album the band has ever done, spawned out of a compulsive need to not just comment on the dystopian corporate wasteland we all face but to trace it back to the origin of this fate; the political policies, laws, cultural shifts, and lineage of injustice that have led us to the world we live in today.”
The band finishes, “Like the band itself, of course the album is an anti-war statement both in the literal and figurative sense. This is an important moment in history and demands an urgent response, but we thought it was also important that we retrace our footsteps to the beginning of these issues. In order to better understand how to eradicate climate devastation, imperialism, war based economics, systems predicated upon racism, and the increasing belief that these things do not even exist, you have got to take people to the source. This idea is the crux of The Lies They Tell Our Children; put this wretched history in their face and demand their empathy.”
As mentioned, the album features multiple notable guest appearances, including Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath, Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach, and more. Details are in the full track listing below.
Lies They Tell Our Children was recorded, produced and mixed by Jon Lundin
Anti-Flag are also returning to the road this fall. The band will embark on a headline run of the U.S. before heading to Canada.
Anti-Flag’s tour will kick off on September 16 in Burlington, Vermont and run through November 6 with an appearance at Punk Rock in the Park in Silverado, California. The band will also head to Quebec for a trek with Vulgaires Machins and Mudie in November.
The band has also announced ANTIfest dates in multiple cities in the U.S. and will be appearing at other major festivals through the fall.
Get your tickets here.
9/16—Burlington, VT—Higher Ground (With Brendan Kelly, Mint Green)
9/17—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall—ANTIfest (Early Show) With Mint Green*
9/17—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall—ANTIfest (Late Show) With Brendan Kelly*
9/18—Hamden, CT—Space Ballroom (With Brendan Kelly, Mint Green)
9/23—Birmingham, AL—Furnace Fest—Sloss Furnaces*
9/24—Charleston, SC—Music Farm (With Doll Skin, Teens in Trouble)
9/25—Louisville, KY@ Louder Than Life Festival—Highland Festival Grounds— KY Expo Center*
9/30—Washington, DC—Black Cat
10/1—Pittsburgh, PA—Roxian Theatre—ANTIfest (With Four Year Strong, Microwave, Heart Attack Man, Catbite, Dissidente)*
10/6—Boise, ID—The Shredder (With Bad Cop / Bad Cop, The Last Gang)
10/7—Seattle, WA—El Corazon (With Bad Cop / Bad Cop, The Last Gang)
10/8—Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom—ANTIfest (With Good Riddance, Bad Cop/ Bad Cop, The Last Gang, Alien Boy, The Macks)*
10/13—Richmond, VA—Canal Club
10/14—Virginia Beach, VA—Elevation 27
10/15—5 Sayreville, NJ —Starland Ballroom—ANTIfest (With Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Anti-Flag, Surfboart, The Black Tones, Catbite)*
10/29—Gainesville, FL—FEST 20—Bo Diddly Plaza*
10/30—Gainesville, FL—FEST 20—Bo Diddly Plaza*
11/4—Chicago, IL—The Metro—ANTIfest (With We Are The Union, Suicide Machines, Gully Boys, Blind Adam, and the Federal League)*
11/5—Detroit, MI—The Sanctuary (We Are The Union, Blind Adam and the Federal League)
11/6—Silverado, CA—Punk In The Park—Oak Canyon Park*
12/4—Phoenix, AZ—Crescent Ballroom (With We Are The Union)
12/9—Buffalo, NY—Rec Room (With Cancer Bats)
12/10—Toronto, ON—Danforth Music Hall—ANTIfest (With Cancer Bats, Dilly Dally, Dead Tired, Indian Giver)*
*FESTIVAL DATE
WITH VULGAIRES MACHINS AND MUDIE:
11/12—Sherbrooke, QC—Granada Theater
11/13—Quebec City, QC—Imperial Bell
11/15—Joliette, QC—Salle Rolland-Brunelle
11/16—Ville de Saguenay, QC—Théâtre du Palais Municipal
11/18—Trois-Rivières, QC—Cabaret de l’Amphithéâtre Cogeco
11/19—Montreal, QC—MTELUS
