An incendiary debut album from the Los Angeles anarcho-punks!
We can’t get enough anarcho-punk lately. It was just the other day that we witnessed Subhumans play a raucous gig in London, and now, right on cue, arrives the debut album from Los Angeles crew Gottlieb. They’ve been described as “a politically driven band blending post-punk tension with the ferocity of classic hardcore”, and that sits just fine with us.
From the moment the alarm-like guitar line of the opening ‘Pipe Bomb’ kicks in, the sense of urgency is almost palpable. Imagine the anarcho-punk sound of Crass fused with the angular hardcore of Refused, and you’ll have a rough idea of where Gottlieb are at musically. We especially like the way ‘American Blood’ utterly rages throughout its two minutes, and also recent single ‘I Started Carrying A Knife Today’; the latter is addictive as hell, with its schizophrenic guitar work and impassioned vocals from frontman Andrew Pescara.
They throw the occasional curveball, such as the surprisingly groovesome ‘Dogs Pt 1 (Joy To Distract From Resistance)’, which seems to be custom built to get people moving, and is sure to be a future live favourite. Closing track ‘Sugar Packets‘ is also something of a surprise; the longest track here, starting off with a kind of post-punk sound before building into a hardcore belter.
Whether taking aim at the pressure today’s youth face on ‘Optimized Child’, decrying police and ICE violence on ‘White Vans’, or raging against the oppression of the working class on ‘What Are You Worth?’, they’re never less than convincing. At less than half an hour long, ‘The Far Fallen Fruit’ doesn’t outstay its welcome, and comes across more as a musical mission statement than as a mere record. This is music to shake people out of complacency – and for that, Gottlieb, we salute you.
‘The Far Fallen Fruit’ is out on May 1st – pre-order it HERE.
Main Photo Credit: ALEX WEBSTER
- Pipe Bomb
- What Are You Worth
- American Blood
- Dogs Pt 1 (Joy To Distract From Resistance)
- City On The Hill
- Optimized Child
- Dogs Pt 2 (The Far Fallen Fruit)
- I Started Carrying A Knife Today
- White Vans
- Sugar Packets
Follow Gottlieb on Their Socials:
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Album review: high-octane LA punks Mermaid Island’s self-titled debut
Brewing chaos in the underground LA punk scene since 2022, Mermaid Island are all about total emotional honesty, based on building and protecting the DIY
Soul Asylum, London Tufnell Park Dome, 9th June 2026
It’s crazy to think that, back in the day, Soul Asylum played Brixton Academy off the back of their 1992 breakthrough album ‘Grave Dancers Union’
Live review: Buzzcocks still rocking the boat and making waves!
Marking their 50th anniversary with a Punk cruise on the Dixie Queen, Buzzcocks sailed down the River Thames in London on 5/6/2026, making this one
Live Review: UK punk pioneer Michelle Brigandage’s first concert in the Netherlands in 43 years
On 28 May 2026, London punk legends Brigandage, joined by Dutch punk veterans Rubber Gun, put on a great show in Arnhem, The Netherlands!
<div
Live review: Die Toten Hosen Start Their Summer of Concerts in Prague & Milan
New songs, surprise setlist changes, rare classics and unforgettable moments marked the opening shows of Die Toten Hosen’s 2026 tour in Prague and Milan! Florian
Album review: La Famiglia – ‘Alphabet Mafia’
Punk and hardcore, at their best, have always been outsiders’ music; by and for people who never quite fit in with the rest. Melbourne-based hardcore
I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
