Outernational, the five-piece punk rock band from New York, are currently touring with veteran British punkers GBH. I stumbled upon their Seattle performance of the tour at the Chop Suey without any prior knowledge of Outernational. Suffice to say I was taken aback by the proficiency of the band, in both their strong stage demeanor and song composition.

The band has been together since 2004 and thus far produced an EP titled Eyes on Fire. The clarity of their production and remarkably tight song-formation can probably be attributed to their work with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who worked on the production and guest-performed on ‘Fighting Song’. Although their six-song effort is the only official release from Outernational thus far, they have numerous other tracks recorded including ‘Deportees’ and ‘Future Rock’ as well as an abundance of live material.

While Outernational can be generalized as punk rock, they probably shouldn’t be without clarifying first where punk currently stands. The genre has taken a huge beating in recent times, the authenticity and passion (i.e. the MOST important aspects) are now suspect. The degradation has reached a stage that if someone is asked to describe punk; their entire perspective will typically be comprised of Green Day and the Offspring. The abuse of punk’s ideals and subsequent ignorance of what it really is almost necessitates that a new, yet authentic, sound has to arise for the sake of the genre.

What Outernational have been able to do in their songs is take the spirit of punk, the attitude of anti-establishmentarianism and vigorous presence, and orchestrate cleanly formed conglomerate sounds. Incorporating elements of ska and world music; their songs are refreshingly unique from other punk bands, while remaining distinct from song to song. The result is a genuinely compelling twist to the genre and thankfully avoids the Green Day tragedy of compromising punk for popularity.

Their eclectic jack-of-all-trades Dr. Blum weaves trumpet, clavinet, accordion, and organ riffs intelligently influencing the melody and tempo in comfortable ways. Guitarist Leo Mintek and bassist Jesse Williams Massa both have their own unique touches, Mintek lending some ska and Massa mixing a little funk in his riffs. The vocalist, Miles Solay, has a very active voice and unmasked New York accent. His screams are occasional and typically you’ll hear him moving somewhere between mid-pitched singing and spoken-active vocals.

A clear and concerned voice is present in all their songs. The band is politically and socially conscious, which is evident when they cover Deportees (originally written by Woody Guthrie) to protest the recent Arizona immigration law. Songs such as ‘Fighting Song’ speak optimistically about global unity and the dethroning of national boundaries’ prevalence. Their attitude is undiluted and often times the message can be rough or involved, however the style of their music is unobtrusive enough that they are accessible to everybody.

Information on their upcoming shows can be seen here, and their EP can be purchased in both hard copy and individual MP3’s here.

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