It's always a little tricky to name your band after a year. It can get cryptic fast unless you go for 1984 like about 36 other bands according to Discogs (among which a very fine Polish postpunk band from the 80's). Orwell's novel is, undeniably, a clever work that resonates deeply with many and whose influence - direct or indirect - permeates a lot of popular sci-fi creations and political literature, and obviously a lot of punk bands. You could make a whole compilation series with punk songs that have "1984" in their title. The cynic in me would point out that most may not have actually read the novel and if they have it's probably because it is one of the few novels that the Punk Elders officially allow you to. Pretending to have read Kafka, Dostoevsky, Camus or Butler can also come handy if you want to look smart. Thanks fuck we have Wikipedia these days to spare ourselves the pain.
But today's band did not pick the highly symbolical 1984 - although they legitimately could have, given the lyrics - but the year 1981 and I am absolutely clueless as to why. Being from Turku, Finland, it must refer to some sort of historical event like a local political movement or a strike. But for all I know it could also refer to Kaaos' early split Ep or the bass player's birth year.
I don't quite remember exactly when I first heard of the band but that would have been around 2011. They played in Paris in 2012 so that was definitely before that. To be perfectly honest, I was a little suspicious of the band for reasons that quickly proved to be wrong. At that point in time I had noticed that some styles I loved dearly but that few people cared about locally, started to get more popular or at least garner some interest. Namely old-school UK anarchopunk or UK82. Don't get me wrong, some old-timers were of course really into it and definitely influenced me and made me discover priceless - and often pricy - bands but, Paris being Paris, most people, beside big names like Crass, Conflict or Subhumans, didn't really give a shit about Zounds, The Mob or Chumba, bands that didn't sound or look as punk and were a bit more challenging. These are bands your mum could probably bear to listen to which makes them unacceptable for the majority of punks.
But anyway, the fact that MRR, through Lance Hahn's work, documented that scene, that Glasper published The Day the Country Died, that Overground Records released their wonderful Anti- compilation series and that a lot of those old bands started to reform and reissue their material, well, it was unavoidable that people who couldn't care less about Bluurg or Spiderleg started to pay attention. Which should have been a source of joy but also made me a little wary. It was very childish and these days everyone can know everything with a couple of clicks so that's not really an issue anymore. So yeah, stupid me.
1981 was one of the first bands to bring back the traditional anarchopunk sound at that time as the 00's (beside some exceptions like Life's a Riot! (who were coincidentally also from Finland), Surrender (with whom they'd share an Ep), Counter Attack or Active Slaughter) had been deprived of classic anarcho influences on a musical level and the exceptions by no means relied on the more morose and poppier side of the genre - goth-punk was right on the corner for that. 1981 were an oddity in the musical landscape of the time and to an extent they still are 15 years on. Them being first introduced to me as an "anarcho-pop" band of sorts certainly didn't help alleviate my suspicion so that when I was first exposed to The Only Government is Your Self I was ready to scoff, loathe, dismiss, despise and hate the thing, which of course I didn't and, on the contrary, I found it incredible. Seldom have my prejudices and biases been proven so wrong.
It sounded fresh, the perfect balance of referentiality and originality, a recording that could appeal to genuine learned fans of anarchopunk and also to people looking for good tunes and smart politics. Granted your basic grindcore freaks were possibly unimpressed but I for one was immediately converted. The singer (who had been active in bands like The Phoenix Foundation among others) told me that 1981 was made up of people from your usual DIY hardcore punk scene as well as from the indie-rock scene, which I thankfully know virtually nothing about. On paper this association would have me call the Punk Police immediately but in that context it works perfectly as the poppier aspect blends seamlessly with the punk sound. It's basically an update on bands that were already influenced with progressive, trippier, poppier elements anyway, like the aforementioned Zounds, The Mob or Chumbawamba (if 1981 really had to be paired with one it'd be with them). The first song "Nightmare/Reality" announces what's to come. It opens with an Alternative riff and ends with an homage to Omega Tribe's softer side. Fan service but done with originality if you know what I mean. The rest cannot be said to be as referential - although the connoisseur will be able to identify the nods - and 1981 have their own way of creating melodies, with their clear guitar sound, the upfront bass lines and sung male and female vocals (my one minor negative comment about the tape is that the female vocalist is not present enough but she would be in the later records).
This last element could be what really set them apart from the other anarcho-influenced or goth punk bands that were about to pop up. Whereas most bands used a lot of reverbs, delay or echo on their vocals, 1981 did not. They sang with their real voice which gives the songs a sense of genuineness and immediacy, but also vulnerability and imperfection which I think goes very well with the genre. Sure, the singers are not always in tune but then who was in the 80's? Mark Mob was not. 1981 would have fit right in with the All the Madmen crew and bands like Thatcher on Acid, Null and Void or A Bitter Lesson. For good measure they covered Political Asylum as singer Ilmari was a massive fan and even reissued on cd the Scots' early materials on his label Passing Bells. Now that's love. The Only Government is Your Self was 1981's first recording and the eight songs are memorable. I hadn't played them in a while and once the start button was hit they all came back to me in a heartbeat. As the saying goes, if you can whistle a tune in the shower, then it's a keeper.
Surprisingly this was never reissued on vinyl (it would make for a rather glorious Lp) even though it does feel like a proper album more than a demo. There is lovely booklet coming with the tape with all the lyrics and cut'n'paste artwork and it's overall clearly a labour of love and passion which is more than one can say about a lot of bands these days (alright, I'm being grumpy). There are two versions of the tape, mine being the 2011 repress on Cut the Cord... records. The band went on to be quite prolific but stuck to Ep's (9 of them!) and you should be able to find some for a relatively good price (Acts of Aggression or In the Dead of Night, that have rerecorded versions of some songs, come especially recommended). Svart Records did release a vinyl compilation with the early singles but this no longer comes cheap unfortunately. I am not sure whether 1981 are still active but they released their last Ep in 2023 so they could be. The world being where it's at these days they should probably release something new.
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