If there’s anything India needs more in its alternative music circuit in terms of conscious messages, it’s conviction. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with making catchy, commercially viable music that still addresses struggle and privilege. But sometimes, you just want artists to get to the heart of the matter and talk about issues in the most forthcoming, irreverent manner possible.
Luckily, we have punk. And in this particular case, adding a much needed spark (and throwing in a bit of kerosene) are Pune/Mumbai hardcore punk band False Flag. They add influences of crust punk, post-hardcore and screamo on their self-titled debut three-track EP, which arrived as a Christmas offering.
For a band that’s been around for about a couple of years and had one demo to test the waters and gigged occasionally (whenever lineup changes didn’t mess with that), False Flag hone in on a headrush that’s sometimes incisive and other times, just starts like an awoken beast. The fuzzy bassline, for example that starts off ‘Spectrum Disorder’, is just an intro to their explosive tirade, as Shaunak Phadnis spits out his thoughts on political divisions in both Hindi and English, perhaps a first for punk in the country.
There’s dissonance aplenty, which carries on to the damaging ‘Sisyphus’ Lament’, one that channels the best parts of hardcore bands such as Converge and Glassjaw. But there’s a certain black metal edge to it as well, especially with the dejectedness with which False Flag conducts itself on ‘Unbroken’, the crackling yells from Phadnis doing every bit to contribute to the din. But ‘Unbroken’ is somewhat melodic, which adds another dimension to the band.
False Flag’s debut EP ticks all the boxes for any fan of fast and heavy music — it even has a crossover appeal and hopefully you’ll find more than just the few punks moshing to these songs at their shows.
Get the EP on falseflagindia.bandcamp.com