photo by Tony Mott "And all the eons they’ve been ruling / it’s never happened, no / The more they point the more they fall our way / They love the power they think they hold over us..."
The rabble rousing politico punk rock slap in the face of "Peace With Bombs" (No No No), by Naarm / Melbourne Australia's alt rockers Rich Webb & The Liars, pulsates with rock classicalism and folk rock protestations (or something like that). Like a collision of artists like The Clash / Bob Dylan / Bad Religion / Woody Guthrie / Midnight Oil / Hoodoo Gurus and LA iconic punk outfit X. I know that is a wide swathe of sounds but I feel an adjacent thing happening here both artistically and attitudinally. As creative and damn entertaining this song is, the sonic / political flesh and bones here is pure social commentary and obvious truth telling that can make you sick to your stomach if you swallow the message whole. At least the Trump administration and mission statement, one that is signed off on in blood by other unmentioned other leaders is exquisitely dark and mystifyingly evil, human lives for ungodly amounts of wealth and unyielding power feels at times like figuratively drinking the Jim Jones kool-aid and if we don't die maybe part of us does for allowing it to happen.
Artistically this social commentary is wonderfully spun by Rich Webb and his cohorts. I am loving the OG vibe, the late 70's to mid 80's aesthetic. I am loving the musicality, the blends of 60's rock and rockabilly, those walking bass lines, jangle pop guitars, the power punching drumming, rousing horn section (sounds) and Webb's vocal countenance full of spit and vinegar, really dig the vocals here and guitar stylings, yep, really do.
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[Modern protest song. A red-hot take on the insanity in the world right now and the delusional belief that bombing the crap out of a country will somehow result in peace. It won't. Yet rich entitled men in countries around the world continue to send off young people - but not their own young people, someone else's who are far more disposable - to bomb and kill in other countries, for their own political power and financial gain. It's been the same for centuries.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
Rich Webb & The Liars are:
Rich Webb - vocals/guitar
Matt Dixon - guitar
Alics Gate-Eastley - bass/vocals
Jim Carden - drums/vocals
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
https://www.instagram.com/rich_webb_music/
https://www.facebook.com/richwebbband
Band. Alt Rock. Indie Rock. Naarm. Australia. Rich Webb & The Liars are from Naarm/Melbourne. Anyone who has spent time in the local scene will know them already. Singer guitarist Rich Webb has a heap of records under his own name, including 'Le Rayon Vert', '2019 Alt-country album of the year'. Lead guitar and pedal steel ace Matt Dixon has two beautiful solo records and can often be found backing some of Australia's finest, while Alics Gate-Eastley on bass and vocals and Jim Carden drums and vocals are regularly out with an assortment of great local outfits. When they come together, they create something electric and compelling. They've recently added another dimension with the inclusion of Henry Webb on keys. Latest single 'Peace With Bombs (No No No)' is their third release and precedes an album slated for the second half of 2026.
Rich Webb & The Liars, indie rock, folk rock, punk rock, protest rock, politico punk, Naarm / Melbourne Australia, Rich Webb aka 'Le Rayon Vert', alt country singer, "Peace With Bombs" (No No No) Official Lyric Video,
Lyrics:
If it takes a soul
to fly this thing over
How come the flying
doesn’t stop?
You’ve got a loving family I’m sure
somewhere
And plenty of folks for which you care a lot
And all your wild loving times
and clear future
Somehow you forgot them
along the way
When the mission is done
and all over
Peace with bombs, you say
The old fat men
and their grey shabby nightmares
They’re shouting at
the clouds
They’ve got nothing here to live for
anymore, anyway
But they’re still trying to rearrange
what’s ours
And all the eons they’ve been ruling
it’s never happened, no
The more they point
the more they fall our way
They love the power
they think they hold over us
Peace with bombs, they say
Bridge
So what is it good for
when it’s never over?
We’re the fools for letting them
boss us all
Because there are rich entitled men
in every country
the bombs continue to fall
No no no
No no no
No no no
No no no
Guitar solo
So those that vainly feign
all righteousness
Above us all
forever somehow to last (I don’t know how)
They will all be forgotten quicker than
a flash of lightning
that turns desert sand into shattered glass
There is no solution
in fighting
There is no way to peace
this way at all
But because there are rich entitled men
in every country
The bombs continue to fall
Peace with bombs, you say
Peace with bombs, you say
Peace with bombs
Peace with bombs
Peace with bombs, you say
No no no
No no no
No no no
If it takes a soul
to fly this thing over
How come the flying
doesn’t stop?
You’ve got a loving family I’m sure
somewhere
And plenty of folks for which you care a lot
And all your wild loving times
and clear future
Somehow you forgot them
along the way
When the mission is done
and all over
Peace with bombs, you say
The old fat men
and their grey shabby nightmares
They’re shouting at
the clouds
They’ve got nothing here to live for
anymore, anyway
But they’re still trying to rearrange
what’s ours
And all the eons they’ve been ruling
it’s never happened, no
The more they point
the more they fall our way
They love the power
they think they hold over us
Peace with bombs, they say
Bridge
So what is it good for
when it’s never over?
We’re the fools for letting them
boss us all
Because there are rich entitled men
in every country
the bombs continue to fall
No no no
No no no
No no no
No no no
Guitar solo
So those that vainly feign
all righteousness
Above us all
forever somehow to last (I don’t know how)
They will all be forgotten quicker than
a flash of lightning
that turns desert sand into shattered glass
There is no solution
in fighting
There is no way to peace
this way at all
But because there are rich entitled men
in every country
The bombs continue to fall
Peace with bombs, you say
Peace with bombs, you say
Peace with bombs
Peace with bombs
Peace with bombs, you say
No no no
No no no
No no no
Rich Webb & The Liars are:
Rich Webb - vocals/guitar
Matt Dixon - guitar
Alics Gate-Eastley - bass/vocals
Jim Carden - drums/vocals
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/rich_webb_music/
https://www.facebook.com/richwebbband
Band. Alt Rock. Indie Rock. Naarm. Australia. Rich Webb & The Liars are from Naarm/Melbourne. Anyone who has spent time in the local scene will know them already. Singer guitarist Rich Webb has a heap of records under his own name, including 'Le Rayon Vert', '2019 Alt-country album of the year'. Lead guitar and pedal steel ace Matt Dixon has two beautiful solo records and can often be found backing some of Australia's finest, while Alics Gate-Eastley on bass and vocals and Jim Carden drums and vocals are regularly out with an assortment of great local outfits. When they come together, they create something electric and compelling. They've recently added another dimension with the inclusion of Henry Webb on keys. Latest single 'Peace With Bombs (No No No)' is their third release and precedes an album slated for the second half of 2026.
Rich Webb & The Liars, indie rock, folk rock, punk rock, protest rock, politico punk, Naarm / Melbourne Australia, Rich Webb aka 'Le Rayon Vert', alt country singer, "Peace With Bombs" (No No No) Official Lyric Video,
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