Refused – “Born On The Outs”

Refused – “Born On The Outs”

Refused, the once-great Swedish punk marauders, released the landmark album The Shape Of Punk To Come in 1998 and then broke up in the immediate aftermath. But Refused reunited in 2012, and they stayed together, though they did lose guitarist Jon Brännström in 2014. In the past years, Refused have once again become a functional band. The music that they’ve made hasn’t exactly been inspiring, but thanks to goodwill that they generated decades ago, some of us will keep checking out their new music as long as there’s new music to check out. Today, there’s new music to check out.

Last year, Refused released War Music, their second post-reunion album. Earlier this year, they also dropped “The Ballad Of Buck Ravers,” a new song recorded for the soundtrack of the video game Cyberpunk 2077. And today, Refused have announced that they’ll release a new EP called The Malignant Fire next month. They’ve also shared “Born On The Outs,” its first single.

According to Lambgoat, “Born On The Outs” is an “interpretation” of “Greyhound,” a 2012 hit from the festival-EDM titans Swedish House Mafia, and the riff sure does seem to come from that track. “Born On The Outs” doesn’t sound like dance music, though. Instead, it’s a chanty, sloganeering studio-rock song about not compromising with fascist enemies. Good intentions! Listen below, if you want.

The Malignant Fire EP is out 11/20 on Spinefarm/Search And Destroy/Universal Music.

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