New Releases Punk News Reviews

Album review: Dead Pioneers – ‘Wagon Burner’

By Alex Goose

The Denver, Colorado quintet make their boldest statement yet on album three!

After witnessing Dead Pioneers’ stunner of a gig at London’s Underworld back in March, and the prior release of their excoriating ‘Nazi Teeth’ single, we’ve been itching to hear this record (the band’s third) – and we’re pleased to report that it does not disappoint. Frontman Gregg Deal sets out his stall on opening track ‘Dead Presidents’; a denouncement of the narrative that lauds the erasure of Native American voices in favour of venerating the likes of Washington and Lincoln.

Throughout this record, he unflinchingly documents the experience of his community; be it the rise of the far right on the aforementioned ‘Nazi Teeth’, lazy stereotypes on ‘Nobody’, or being patronised, gaslit and generally talked down to on ‘Seeing Red’. The latter is especially potent; building and building from Gregg’s signature spoken-word style over a melodic intro, to the venting of righteous anger over a venomous mix of pure punk rock guitar and propulsive drumming.

As you may have gathered, Dead Pioneers hit just as hard musically as they do lyrically. For the most part, ‘Wagon Burner’ is a hardcore record at heart, even if it doesn’t generally blast past at 100mph, as you’d normally associate with bands of that genre. There’s some serious guitar abuse on ‘No Kings’, with its mighty “no kings/no masters/an American disaster” refrain, and when they really put the pedal to the metal – as they do on ‘Circle Jerk The Wagons’ – they sound absolutely unstoppable. Yep, there are brains and brawn in equal measures here.

They probably wouldn’t welcome the label ‘catchy’, but the truth is that Dead Pioneers can craft a tune to match the best of them. We’re thinking of the shuffling post-punk rhythms and chiming guitars of ‘Animals That Roam The Earth’; the electronica-tinged collaboration with Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson that is ‘The Worst Among Us’; but most of all, ‘Never Alone‘, which features Californian ska-punks The Interrupters. It features the kind of unashamedly fists-in-the-air, sing-along chorus that lesser bands would kill for, and as odes to the power of community go, it’ll take some beating.

Are these folks the new Rage Against The Machine? Perhaps that’s a lazy comparison, but it’s hard to think of another band of recent times that has spoken truth to power as forcefully and eloquently as Gregg and his band do on ‘Wagon Burner’, and that also had such musical muscle to back it up. Hearing this record for the first time, it sent a shiver down my spine in the same way that Zack De La Rocha’s crew did with their incendiary self-titled debut. With ‘Wagon Burner’, Dead Pioneers have truly arrived, and you’d be well advised to pay close attention.

‘Wagon Burner’ is released on 26th June via Hassle Records – pre-order it HERE.

Main Photo Credit: DEREK BREMNER

  1. Dead Presidents
  2. Nazi Teeth (featuring Stephanie Byrne/Cheap Perfrume)
  3. A Message From Mr Bell
  4. No Kings
  5. Animals That Roam The Earth
  6. Never Alone (featuring The Interrupters)
  7. The Worst Among Us (featuring Jason Williamson/Sleaford Mods)
  8. Seeing Red
  9. Circle Jerk The Wagons
  10. Zealots
  11. Nobody
  12. LFG
Follow Dead Pioneers on Their Socials:
Www Facebook Instagram Spotify
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Share This Story!