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.
9/16âBurlington, VTâHigher Ground (With Brendan Kelly, Mint Green)
9/17âBoston, MAâBrighton Music HallâANTIfest (Early Show) With Mint Green*
9/17âBoston, MAâBrighton Music HallâANTIfest (Late Show) With Brendan Kelly*
9/18âHamden, CTâSpace Ballroom (With Brendan Kelly, Mint Green)
9/23âBirmingham, ALâFurnace FestâSloss Furnaces*
9/24âCharleston, SCâMusic Farm (With Doll Skin, Teens in Trouble)
9/25âLouisville, [email protected] Louder Than Life FestivalâHighland Festival Groundsâ KY Expo Center*
9/30âWashington, DCâBlack Cat
10/1âPittsburgh, PAâRoxian TheatreâANTIfest (With Four Year Strong, Microwave, Heart Attack Man, Catbite, Dissidente)*
10/6âBoise, IDâThe Shredder (With Bad Cop / Bad Cop, The Last Gang)
10/7âSeattle, WAâEl Corazon (With Bad Cop / Bad Cop, The Last Gang)
10/8âPortland, ORâCrystal BallroomâANTIfest (With Good Riddance, Bad Cop/ Bad Cop, The Last Gang, Alien Boy, The Macks)*
10/13âRichmond, VAâCanal Club
10/14âVirginia Beach, VAâElevation 27
10/15â5 Sayreville, NJ âStarland BallroomâANTIfest (With Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Anti-Flag, Surfboart, The Black Tones, Catbite)*
10/29âGainesville, FLâFEST 20âBo Diddly Plaza*
10/30âGainesville, FLâFEST 20âBo Diddly Plaza*
11/4âChicago, ILâThe MetroâANTIfest (With We Are The Union, Suicide Machines, Gully Boys, Blind Adam, and the Federal League)*
11/5âDetroit, MIâThe Sanctuary (We Are The Union, Blind Adam and the Federal League)
11/6âSilverado, CAâPunk In The ParkâOak Canyon Park*
12/4âPhoenix, AZâCrescent Ballroom (With We Are The Union)
12/9âBuffalo, NYâRec Room (With Cancer Bats)
12/10âToronto, ONâDanforth Music HallâANTIfest (With Cancer Bats, Dilly Dally, Dead Tired, Indian Giver)*
*FESTIVAL DATE
WITH VULGAIRES MACHINS AND MUDIE:
11/12âSherbrooke, QCâGranada Theater
11/13âQuebec City, QCâImperial Bell
11/15âJoliette, QCâSalle Rolland-Brunelle
11/16âVille de Saguenay, QCâThéùtre du Palais Municipal
11/18âTrois-RiviĂšres, QCâCabaret de l’Amphithéùtre Cogeco
11/19âMontreal, QCâMTELUS
