Organized Chaos Still Having Fun LP

I don’t know what to think about this one. I love and have a lot of respect for what Sealed Records put out. The label makes popular classic anarcho-punk records (from the ICONOCLAST, ZOUNDS, or RUDIMENTARY PENI) finally available again to the grateful punters, giving lesser-known/underrated but absolutely brilliant and crucial ’80s bands like TOXIC WASTE or KARMA SUTRA the reissue treatment at the same time. Clearly a work of passion and good taste I really relate to. But I was a little surprised to see this ORGANIZED CHAOS album. Not that the band is bad—they did play enjoyable enough political, snotty UK punk that makes you want to drink cheap cider and spike your hair (assuming you have any), but they can hardly be said to be as classic or memorable as the rest of the label’s catalogue, although they may have been very relevant in their area at the time (would that make them a ‘’local classic” band’’?). They sound like a mix of ACTIVES, LUNATIC FRINGE, and STUPID HUMANS (the band had a connection with Bluurg Records, actually), if you need points of comparison. If you are a massive fan of British anarcho-punk and undeterred by sloppiness in punk music in general, you should buy the thing, and the amount of work put into the huge booklet is worth supporting in any case, as Still Having Fun is as much a piece of our collective history as it is a record. However, if you are not a completist or an undiscerning fan like myself, I don’t think ORGANIZED CHAOS will impress you much. There are some decent sing-along numbers like ‘’H-bomb Wars,’’ but on the whole it is pretty typical and generic, neither really tuneful enough to be really memorable nor energetic and furious enough to really stand out. I want to like this more than I do.