Review / 200 Words Or Less
Government Issue
The Punk Remains the Same

DC Jam (2009) — Sean K.

Government Issue – The Punk Remains the Same cover artwork
Government Issue – The Punk Remains the Same — DC Jam, 2009

New live E.P. from these DC music legends. Featuring an earlier line-up than on their last live record (Strange Wine), this fits neatly on your shelf sandwiched between that record and Finale. Besides John Stabb on vocals and Tom Lyle on guitar, this release sports Marc Aberstadt (sans headband) on drums and Mitch Parker on bass. Two different live shows are sampled, and rumor has it there is more in the can that may someday see the light of day. Surprisingly bright recording considering this is from the early 1980's. I've seen naysayers whining that we don't need another version of "Sheer Terror" out there. Balderdash. That's like saying you can have too much whipped cream on your pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.

9.0 / 10 — Sean K. • October 6, 2009

Government Issue – The Punk Remains the Same cover artwork
Government Issue – The Punk Remains the Same — DC Jam, 2009

Related news

Government Issue bootlegs

Posted in Bands on November 20, 2012

Recently-posted album reviews

Opus Kink

The Sweet Goodbye
So Recordings (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Come Over, Do Me Wrong”, “The Sweet Goodbye”, “I Have to Shine My Sunday Shoes”, “Crucify!” Opus Kink sound like nobody else. To call them “jazz punk” is to massively oversimplify it. In fact, there’s not much traditionally “punk” about them. If anything, it’s “noise rock”, but with traces of almost every other genre you could name. … Read more

Sludgeworth

Second Time Around
Red Scare Industries (2026)

I never got very into Screeching Weasel and the extended family tree. Ignoring the politics of the matter, the music never really hit that sweet spot for me either. But Sludgeworth were an exception. The band released just one album, that I discovered at least 10years after its release, but seemingly disappeared -- only to resurface after a 2022 reissue … Read more

Social Distortion

Born to Kill
Epitaph (2026)

Rating: 🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🚬 / 10 (8 Tipped Martini Glasses and a Cigarette) Remember that movie Fantastic Voyage, where a miniaturized submarine gets inserted into a person's bloodstream on a mission to clear a blood clot in the brain? Well, consider yourself in luck: I’m infiltrating your brain with my own fantastic journey with Social Distortion, which goes all the way back … Read more