Cover Art: Pat Moriarity
It’s been a while since I last picked up a punk review. I was having a busy evening, and Yungblud was playing on the vinyl player, but then a late-night impulse had me grabbing a review before bedtime. And here it is.
Press Release:
Cindy Lawson has created another spectacular EP titled ¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE! I love how Cindy shows up and doesn’t hold back! It’s epic, bold, sassy and straight-up punk rock, and I am here for it! All four songs are fiery, in-your-face and rockin’!
Bio:
Cindy Lawson is back with a vengeance on her third record since returning to music after a 25-year hiatus. After garnering rave reviews and international radio play with 2022’s “New Tricks” and 2023’s “Don’t Come Crying to Me” (including national radio support from Little Steven’s Underground Garage Sirius XM and local radio station 89.3 The Current), Cindy is now celebrating the release of her four-song response to the violent siege of Minnesota in the winter of 2026, ¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE! The EP is a fiery, feminist jolt of truth forged in the fire of punk rock and boots-on-the-ground protest.
Band Members:
Vocals, guitar: Cindy Lawson
Guitar, vocals: Jerry Lefkowitz
Bass, vocals: Pony Hixon Smith
Bass: Dave Randall
Drums, vocals: Mark Devaraj
*MN Resistance Choir on backup vocals
*Additional material by George Orwell
Release date: October 2, 2026
My Review
¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!
The Reckoning – 03:12 – This opener took me straight back to the heady days of ’78, when The Undertones were performing “Teenage Kicks” – that catchy punk riff driving the car, with the pop-punk delivery reminding us that karma is such a bitch – and it is, beware, lol. It’s a song looking forward to the reckoning, delivered with the desire to “see you on your knees – karma’s a bitch, but so am I.” Part of the beauty of punk is that it strips things back and still manages to deliver a neat punch. This manages that just fine and retains the sense of live energy in the process.
Burn – 02:43 – This is a track in a hurry, incendiary and thoroughly unimpressed by somebody else’s mediocrity and lies. There’s a type of newsreader delivery at one point, a narration of the state of the world. I did love the guitars here and the contemporary references to events such as Epstein. It’s a warning about believing those lies, delivered with an explosive reaction to them.
Eat The Rich – 02:21 – Another track that comes charging out of the blocks. It turns part conversational, part confessional and part angst against the richer members of society! Lawson asks if we can feel the fire, and one or two of those guitar breaks do indeed have some real fire.
Howard Zinn Died for Your Sins – 02:44 – This track will likely strike a chord with listeners across the pond. It centres on Howard Zinn, the American historian best known for A People’s History of the United States, whose work challenged conventional accounts of American history by placing ordinary people, protest movements and marginalised communities at the centre. Maybe this is an attack on the Zinnification of radical politics — people quoting A People’s History, talking about resistance and historical injustice, but failing to actually do anything. But I’m British and hadn’t actually heard of him previous to scurrying off to ask ChatGPT!
Musically, the song echoes the biting energy of John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?”, driven by a spiky, rolling riff. While the specific nuances of US internal politics might fly over the heads of outside observers, the execution is unmistakable: the vocals spit pure bile over a riff full of teeth.
Four songs, eleven minutes, and not a moment wasted. Cindy Lawson has delivered an EP that remembers punk was never meant to sit quietly in the corner and behave itself. There are some cracking guitar riffs here, a healthy dose of attitude and enough venom in the vocals to make the message stick. Whether or not you share Lawson’s particular grievances, the music has an urgency that is difficult to ignore. I came to this one late in the evening, and it certainly woke me up. Punk rock still has teeth, and Cindy Lawson isn’t afraid to bite.
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Stream music from Cindy Lawson here
By Stevie Ritson
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