The Proletariat – “The Murder Of Alton Sterling” & “Push Back”

The Proletariat – “The Murder Of Alton Sterling” & “Push Back”

The Proletariat came up within the notoriously violent early-’80s Boston hardcore scene, but they were always more pointedly political and more scratchily urgent than their scene-mates. They took their cues not from rigorous, minute-long hardcore bursts but from the feverish rage-rush of UK punk and postpunk. The band broke up in 1985, but they reunited last year to play shows. And today, they’ve come out with their first new music since 1985.

The two new songs, “The Murder Of Alton Sterling” and “Push Back,” on the Proletariat’s reunion 7″ are both furious political tracts about, as the band puts it “abuse of power.” The first track explicitly addresses the case of Alton Sterling, the unarmed black man who was shot dead, at point-blank range, by police in Baton Rouge. And while “Push Back” isn’t as specific in its rage, it’s just as full of righteous wrath. Both songs are hard and intense and vengeful, and both represent a vital comeback from a band who hasn’t been making music in the past 33 years. Listen below.

“The Murder Of Alton Sterling” b/w “Push Back” is out now on Bridge Nine.

more from New Music