Randy is not a new band, and althought a lot of kids go around saying they know all about punk bands and then say that this is the third Randy album, “The Human Atom Bombs” is the 7th or 8th album from these punk pioneers from Sweden. The other new bands you hear from Sweden are just “sons” or Randy, because these four dudes have been around since 1990 and even before. So, after the re-release of their records “There is No Way We’re Gonna Fit In” and “The Rest Is Silence” (both on Burning Heart ) the band is releasing a new record on Burning Heart/Epitaph. After the masterpiece “You Can’t Keep A Good Band Down”, that signed a kind of progression (and a change) in the sound of the band, as, when they begun, they played quite fast punk-rock and with that record Randy started playing punk’77 or street-punk or whatever it is called.

“The Human Atom Bombs” finally signs a decent record from Burning Heart Records, that may also be releasing good albums but nothing really special; instead, Randy are special! If musically they sound like a bastard mix among The Clash, The Dead Kennedys, with some fast songs as “Addict Of Communication” , rock n’ roll songs as “Chicken Shack”, and also slow reggae-influenced songs like “Karl Marx And History”, the most important part in Randy are the lyrics: these make theme different from almost all the “punk” bands around today.

They sing about politics in an open way, with some humor here and there, and if you listen to them for the first time you will think with no doubt that they are communist or socialist or anyway of the left wing. They may be compared to such bands as Propagandhi, Anti Flag and Satanic Surfers, as their involvement in politics is very radical, not only in the lyrics but also in the artwork ( if you happen to see the cover of their record “The Rest Is Silence” you will understand), with clear references to Marx, the communism, the fight between the proletarian and the capitalists and the defense of the rights of the workers.

Maybe the average listeners of pop-punk or emo will find this hard to listen to, but it is surely a good album and pretty clever too, and finally Burning Heart is releasing some better stuff that before.