The Legend of SS Decontrol
Boston’s Best Hardcore Punk Band is Revived with New Reissues
SS Decontrol at full tilt, photo by Phil In Flash
The early 1980s are commonly known as the “Golden Age of Hardcore Punk” as the sound of the 70s punk rock bands sped up and became more urgent, often with direct rebellious social/political lyrics perhaps in part due to/in reaction to the election of president Ronald Reagan (in America, at least). Hardcore bands sprouted up across the country (and globally), playing mostly small shows for fans and pressing up copies (mostly plateauing in the low thousands, if that) of independently-released 7ins and LPs.
Boston’s Society System Decontrol emerged from the hardcore scene as a band of lore. My friends and I had heard tracks from their debut album, “The Kids Will Have Their Say” on the Maximum Rock N Roll radio show in 1982 and rushed out to Rough Trade Records in San Francisco to get it, only to find it sold out and then nowhere to be found. At the time, the band had a sort of mystery to them; they were top tier musically and lyrically, but the only picture we had seen was on the lyric sheet, which showed the band at full-tilt, with vocalist Springa screaming whilst leaping in mid-air. The band also didn’t do many interviews (that we could find, anyway) so really all we had was a tape of the first album and that was it.
“Get It Away” 12in EP cover/Cover art by Pushead
My friends and I were super excited when we heard that a new SS Decontrol 12in EP entitled “Get It Away” was announced in 1983. We had heard some of it on the Maximum Rock N Roll radio show, then made the trek (again) back to Rough Trade and, lucky enough, we hit paydirt this time as “Get it Away” was prominently displayed with the new releases. The cover art was drawn by Pushead (who we ended up meeting/knowing soon afterwards) which was notable but the back cover revealed a montage of numerous live shots of the band, which left us in awe. The top left photo shows vocalist Springa in full “marching mode” with fists clenched and gritted teeth. To the right is a picture of drummer Chris Foley (who was way above average for the genre….he’s incredible, really) attacking his instrument and grimacing with aggression. The first pic below is self-described “wrecking ball guitarist” Al Barile in full attack mode, launched into mid-air, as if precipitating some sort of assault, with an audience member recoiling defensively. The next photo reveals bassist Jamie Scriapppa pounding his instrument athletically. The final snapshot on the lower right depicts vocalist Springa clenching his teeth, staring skyward, as guitarist Al Barile leaps/levitates next to him, almost in a superhuman way, with both legs kicked horizontally whilst still holding his guitar. The back cover of “Get It Away” also revealed another fact. Where “The Kids Will Have their Say” was recorded as a four piece, “Get It Away” introduced a new fifth member, a second guitarist named Francois. Needless to say, these photos left us drooling, eager to hear the record.
“Get It Away” back cover
SS Decontrol also championed Straight Edge, a term coined by Ian MacKaye of fellow hardcore group Minor Threat for living a lifestyle free of drugs and alcohol. Straight Edge philosophies permeated “The Kids will Have their Say” and continued on “Get it Away”.
SS Decontrol, Photo by Phil In Phlash.
The record begins with several heavy ominous guitar chords, quickly rolling into the first track, the fan-favorite “Glue”. Listeners are quickly introduced to a different SSD tempo. Where the music on “The Kids Will Have Their Say” was a lightning speed barrage of hardcore energy, “Glue” takes a slower, steamrolling approach, punctuated by Springa’s minimal vocals. Songwriter and lyricist Al Barile explained that after the release of “Kids”, Boston had spawned several HC bands at the time who “played fast” that he felt performed that style better than SSD, so he surmised they had to change and play upon a different strength: their power. Also, where “The Kids Will Have Their Say” was recorded with 8 tracks and re-recorded a few times due to the band’s dissatisfaction with the final product, “Get it Away” revealed a vastly improved, beefy 16 track recording. Al Barile states that Get it Away “sounded better…we weren’t totally proud of the first record and we wanted to make something better”.
Revisiting the album now, the anti-smoking title track “Get it Away” is the centerpiece, beginning with a reggae bass line with drums being introduced then dual guitars drop in, bringing the sound back to what SSD is known for: power. Springa’s vocals crash in with a scream and the tempo changes again, now a dramatic, sirenic rhythm. Taken out of context, I always thought the anti-smoking lyrics “You, you, you, you, you… take my breath away” had a 60s girl group love song vibe to them, but SSD uses a more literal approach about second-hand smoke.
“Under the Influence” has another very brief reggae-influenced drum intro then drives into an absolutely raging Bad Brainsian hardcore track.
Another high point is the track “Xclaim” (also the name of their original record label) which reads as a marching statement of purpose with the following lyrics:
“Come up here with us, emotions let ‘em go
Gotta be real hard, have to let them show
Must show the others, be true that's no lie
We can rock together, without getting high
They will try to stop us, most they can do is dent
Together we are one, our message has been sent“
SS Decontrol flyer, San Francisco, August 11th, 1983
I was lucky enough to see SS Decontrol at the On Broadway in San Francisco on August 11, 1983, opening for British punk act GBH. I remember seeing the flyer and being a bit shocked that they were playing second from the bottom, especially since they were traveling from the East Coast and their reputation as a live act. Regardless, they put on an absolutely raging performance and were the best band of the night. I feel like I vaguely remember that they played tracks from “Kids”, “Get It Away” and their then-unreleased third album “How We Rock”. I actually reached out to Al Barile to see if he remembered but, with it being 40+ years ago, he couldn’t recall.
After being out of print for over forty years, “Get it Away” was recently re-released on Trust Records on several different vinyl colors. The reissue is true to the original and includes some other goodies, like a printed inner sleeve and SSD stencil. More recently, guitarist and founding member Al Barile has relayed that he’s in the process of undergoing cancer treatment and we at Refracting Sound are wishing and hoping for the best of health for him. An SSD book, “How Much Art Can You Take?”, was also released in 2023 in coordination with Nancy Barile and photographer Phil In Phlash.
SS Decontrol “Get it Away” reissue on Trust Records
The reissues of SS Decontrol's "The Kids will Have Their Say” and “Get It Away” are currently available from Trust Records. “How Much Art Can You Take?” Is available from Radio Raheem books.