Punk Rockers Debt Neglector Give a Damn and Let You Know With Their Latest Release, Dirty Water

Florida punkers Debt Collector are set to release their Dirty Water album on November 5^th via Smartpunk Records and it’s got me all fired up. The Orlando based band has been making music since 2016 speaking to social issues such as racism, threat of nuclear war, and gun control. Along the way they have released two Eps, The Kids are Pissed (2018) and Bad Faith (2021) along with one LP, Atomicland (2017). Being socially conscious, they have used these projects as fund raising activities for organizations like Fair Fight Action and the ACLU.

Dirty Water is a musical album, but it’s more than just about music. What I like about punk artists is they have the balls to say what needs to be said. That’s what this album is about, message. It’s about right vs wrong. I have to admit that I am a bleeding-heart liberal. October is one of my favorite months because I don’t have to keep by evil Democrat horns, tail, and pitchfork under wraps with Halloween approaching. The left is characterized as evil because we care about people, society, and the environment, whereas the right is righteous as they tear down the obstacles which are preventing the wealthy from gaining even more wealth while turning their backs on people in need.

This album has very political overtones but also touches on other topics such as depression, anxiety, fear, and loss. The first song, “Dirty Water” deals with the Flint, Michigan water crisis which touches close to home for me. I was born and raised in Michigan before migrating south and it angers me and breaks my what is happening back home. Flint and now Benton Harbor, which both have largely minority populations, have undrinkable water supplies which have been poisoning people for years.

Debt Neglector says “This track is about the Flint Water Crisis and how ashamed our country should be about letting it happen. We’re supposed to be “the richest country in the world,” but people were poisoned with dangerous levels of lead (among other cancer and illness causing toxins), people died, and many of the children in Flint will be dealing with lifelong health issues because of it. And the worst part is that the people in charge knew about it and tried to cover it up. I feel like the situation that happened in Flint is kind of a microcosm of America. Politicians serving their own self-interests, trying to make (or save) a quick buck, and fucking over the constiuents that they were elected to help and protect. That’s why the song title ended up becoming the album title for this LP. While Dirty Water the song is fairly literal, it also serves as a metaphor for the general corruption in America.”

“Cult, Cult, Cult” is another song that gets me fired up. It deals with the conning of working-class America by the wealthy ruling class. Over the last several decades the right has sold many in this country on Reagan trickle-down economics which suggests that cutting taxes on corporations and the wealthy will result in these corporate savings “trickling” down to the average person in the form of jobs and higher wages. However, the increase revenues stop at executive bonuses, stock buy backs, and higher stock dividends.

The band discusses the song saying “’Cult Cult Cult’ is about the segment of people in our country that have been tricked into thinking unchecked Capitalism is basically the greatest thing ever. They’ve been fooled into believing that immigrants and social programs are the reason they’re broke, instead of blaming the actual root of their problems which is the unchecked greed of the extremely wealthy and mega corporations. They look up to guys like Jeff Bezos and believe they’ve actually EARNED their money. When in reality the only way anyone can get that rich is through exploiting the labor of thousands of people and paying to bend the rules in your favor.”

“Least I Could Do” shifts from political to a more personal issue for the band. “’Least I Could Do’is a song about having to say goodbye to a beloved pet. Anyone who’s gone through that knows it’s such an impossible decision to make. It fucked me up pretty bad. But the last thing we wanted was for her to suffer on account of us not being ready to let go. I feel like writing a song about it kind of helped me process the experience better. It also let’s me honor her in a way because now all that love and pain exists on the internet forever (or at least until civilization collapses!). Admittedly, the song is a HUGE bummer but it’s energetic and super fun to play. It’s also something I think a lot of people can relate to. With the video we wanted to balance out the sad vibes a bit so we got a little silly with our concept. I really like the juxtaposition of this super downhearted song but in the video we’re dressed up like dogs playing frisbee, jumping in the pool, and acting like idiots.”

Dirty Water is 34 minutes in length and probably didn’t take much longer to record but who cares. This isn’t overproduced pop with layers upon layers used to mask a singer’s poor singing ability. It’s raw, aggressive string banging with a singer straining his vocal cords to get a message across. This album is for those of us that are fed up with the right-wing brainwashing of working-class America. The top 0.1% control as much wealth as the bottom 90% in this country. There are homeless people begging for money on street corners and sleeping under overpasses. To paraphrase Peter Finch from the movie Network “we’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take this anymore.” Debt Neglector is a band that is trying to make a difference. This album speaks for the majority of Americans being limited by the minority.

Dirty Water will be released on November 5^th. Pre-orders are available here and 10% of the proceeds from physical record sales will be split evenly between Flint Kids Fund and Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village (SBEV) to help youth affected by the dangerous levels of lead and toxins that were piped into their homes from the Flint River.

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Post by Scott Raymer (Website | Instagram | Facebook)

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