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The Tennessee country-punk artist Sunny War is a big fan of Crass, the massively influential British anarcho-punk collective. In 2011, she did a cool acoustic cover of Crass’ eternal anthem “Do They Owe Us A Living” (Of course they fucking do!) Last year, Sunny War made her TV debut on CBS Sunday Morning, and she tweeted that she wanted to wear a Crass shirt on-air but CBS wouldn’t allow it because fo the band’s logo: “Viewers may think it is swastika adjacent.” That’s so dumb! In any case, Sunny War got the last laugh, since she’s got a new song with Crass’ Steve Ignorant.
“Walking Contradiction,” Sunny War’s new song with Steve Ignorant, is not a Green Day cover. (Can you imagine if the guy from Crass was singing on a Green Day cover?) Instead, it’s a bluesy, rootsy lope about the exact fucked-up societal constructions that used to animate so many Crass songs: “You associate survival with the order they provide/ Like the government is vital for a people’s chance to thrive/ Ain’t it funny how you don’t see them as people anymore?/ Simply users and abusers, us and them, peace and war.”
“Walking Contradiction” is the first single from Armageddon In A Summer Dress, Sunny War’s follow-up to her 2023 breakout Anarchist Gospel. The new album is out early next year, and Sunny War wrote its songs after moving into her late father’s 100-year-old house in Chattanooga. In addition to Steve Ignorant, it’s got appearances from Valerie June, X’s John Doe, the Raconteurs’ Jack Lawrence, and others.
It was a big deal for Sunny War to get to record with Steve Ignorant. In a press release, she says, “He’s my hero for life. When I started listening to Crass, it changed everything about how I thought about everything.” Steve Ignorant also has nice things to say about her: “She is the younger voice, taking up the torch of hope in this dark world. The minute I heard the song, I knew it would work, and recording it was an incredibly emotional experience. The lyrics are now in my head for good, which is not a bad thing. And who knows — maybe one day we’ll get the chance to perform it together live.” Below, check out “Walking Contradiction” and the Armageddon In A Summer Dress tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 “One Way Train”
02 “Bad Times”
03 “Rise”
04 “Ghosts”
05 “Walking Contradiction” (Feat. Steve Ignorant)
06 “Cry Baby” (Feat. Valerie June)
07 “No One Calls Me Baby”
08 “Scornful Heart” (Feat. Tré Burt)
09 “Gone Again” (Feat. John Doe)
10 “Lay Your Body”
11 “Debbie Downer”
Armageddon In A Summer Dress is out 2/21 on New West Records.
English (US) · 