Report Suspicious Activity

Report Suspicious Activity

Destroy All Evidence

Alternative Tentacles

The sunset of the Bush Administration brings the empty election-year promise of change that placates some, but others--still tasting the bile over American atrocities from the last eight years and beyond--force a change themselves. Vic Bondi (Articles of Faith, Alloy, Jones Very) began Report Suspicious Activity as a productive means to channel his political rage: a one-off project that grew into a band as musicians were recruited, songs written, and shows played. In addition to Bondi, Report Suspicious Activity now boasts an impressive lineup with J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines), Darren Zentek (Kerosene 454), and Erik Denno (Kerosene 454).  The meaningless war on terror drags on, and so continues Report Suspicious Activity's musical insurgency. For Destroy All Evidence, their follow-up to 2005's self-titled debut, both Bondi and Robbins penned the songs while Bondi, Robbins, and Denno take turns as lead vocalists. In terms of songcraft and lyrical heft, They can duke it out with the best of Reagan-era political punk. Their hardcore mettle is tempered with a DC post-punk slant and Bondi's always-soulful songwriting. The lyrics, as informed as they are vitriolic, go beyond simplistic punk punditry, waking our emotional core fatigued by the 24-hour news cycle. Is Destroy All Evidence a bitter requiem for the Bush legacy? One would like to think it's a clarion call to never forget the dark times as we forge ahead.  "A distinct reflection of the times and Vic's complete discontent with the politics that are tarnishing America's name.... This isn't just...

Report Suspicious Activity

Report Suspicious Activity

Alternative Tentacles

G. W. Bush was re-elected and the war in Iraq still rages on—a mere status quo or a tinderbox of popular rage waiting for someone to light the fuse? VIC BONDI of the seminal Chicago hardcore band ARTICLES OF FAITH steps up with a lit match: a new band called REPORT SUSPCIOUS ACTIVITY, featuring former JAWBOX member and producer extraordinaire J. ROBBINS. What started out as a Vic Bondi solo project quickly grew into a fully-fledged band, fortifying Bondi’s soulful songwriting with Robbins’ production chops. REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY finds the unadulterated anger and political edge that fueled AOF, and injects them into a more modern—but no less searing—sonic arrangement that flirts with post-hardcore but manages to stay more “hardcore” than “post.” There’s a definite DC hardcore underpinning that marked the later AOF material and belies Robbins’ DC roots. This record features one previously released song from Vic Bondi’s “Fortunate Son” (Virus 299) EP, and a cadre of new Robbins-produced songs inspired by the social and political mire that is America.