Smoke Signals is an album by the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

band MDC. The original vinyl release appeared on the band's own Radical Records label in 1986.

Background

It was finally reissued on CD in 2001 on the We Bite label and distributed by Plastic Head. The album finds the band moving in musical directions outside of hardcore, with some tracks featuring hints of classic and progressive rock sounds, but it is still largely a punk rock album featuring the band's typically tight, fast musicianship. Lyrics focus on sociopolitical themes typical of punk rock at the time, including sentiments critical of the government and of South African apartheid. One of the band's more humorous songs, "Country Squawk" espouses a pro-vegetarian view over fast, twangy country-western musical backing.

Track listing

Side One

# "No More Cops" # "King of Thrash" # "Drink to Forget" # "The Big Picture" # "Skateboards from Hell" # "Tofutti" # "South Africa Is Free"

Side Two

# "Acceptable Risks" # "Missile Destroyed Civilization" # "Soup Kitchen Celebrity" # "Country Squawk" # "Paradise Lost" # "Smoke Signals" "Country Squawk" is a new recording of "Chicken Squawk" from the band's ''

Millions of Dead Children MDC is an American punk rock band formed in 1979 in Austin, Texas, subsequently based in San Francisco, and currently Portland, Oregon. Among the first wave of bands to define the sound and style of American hardcore punk, MDC originally fo ...

'' 7-inch EP. The song "Big Picture" is a cover of a Subhumans song.

Personnel

Dave Dictor Dave Dictor (born December 4, 1956) is an American musician, singer of the punk rock band MDC (of which he is a founding member), and founder of the band's label, R Radical Records. Dictor is known for his political lyrics, involvement in the ...

– lead vocals *Gordon Fraser – guitar *Franco Mares – bass guitar *Al Schvitz – drums with help from: *Joe (CFA) Rock – bass on "No More Cops", "King of Thrash", "The Big Picture" and "Skateboards From Hell" *Ex Con Ron on Posner– guitar on "Acceptable Risks", "No More Cops", "King of Thrash", "The Big Picture" and "Skateboards From Hell" *Dave Dick – acoustic guitar on "Country Squawk" *Tom Albino – guitar on "Missile Destroyed Civilization" 1986 albums MDC (band) albums {{1980s-punk-album-stub