‘Hi hag holl verc’hed an dispac’hoù, Disprizet hag ankouet, D’ar re a faot dezhe chanch an traoù, Trugarez da vout bet’ / ‘Her and all the women of the revolutions, Despised and forgotten, For all those that want to change things, Thank you for being’ (Nathalie Lemel)

Spont Ar Stad (State Terror) is a stirring exploration of how the constructs of power so insidiously shape our lives.  How those who exercise them seek to create a hegemonic grip on the public consciousness, disavowing the potential for change, and breeding resigned acceptance of the status quo. How they attempt to present these outcomes as just plain common sense, to silence debate as if they are a technocratic inevitability that must simply be endured.

This is the self-titled debut album from France’s Spont Ar Stad and it calls back to the roots of 1980s’ UK anarcho-punk in the vein of Zounds and early Karma Sutra.  The production is undistorted, rather than clean.  This imbues the guitar with a brittle resonance as it weaves its sombre melodies and, similarly, the rhythm section bathes in an understated analogue warmth.  This affords an unexpected clarity to the instrumentation, revealing a subtle detailing without diluting the velocity of the delivery.

The Breton vocals sit front and centre, fiercely ardent as they segue from the semi-shouted to more melodic, folk tinged, and on occasion dub leaning, expressions.  As they sweep from the powerfully layered climax to Nathalie Lemel and the deft melodic flourishes of An Arnev (The Thunder), to the rousing dual vocal chorus of Massive and the bristling Hurle Brûle (Howl Burn), Spont Ar Stad reanimate their influences with a fresh fury.