Rifle, have released their debut EP Under Two Flags, today via new hardcore imprint, Standard Process, in association with One Little Independent Records. Originally meeting while working for a retailer in Camden, Rifle bonded on a shared love for Bad Breeding, Chubby and the Gang and The Chisel, all of which they would go on to support, as well as racking up slots with the likes of High Vis, Crocodiles, DITZ, Raw Brigade and more. They gained quick notoriety on the local circuit before releasing their 2022 ‘Holloway Demos’.

EP opener and title track ‘Under Two Flags’ explores the idea of having to pinpoint your nationality, as most of the band come from a mixed British/Irish background, and the duality of straddling two cultural identities. They tell us that follow-up ‘Disorderly’ “confronts generational trauma. The chorus, ‘No Longer Free, No Longer Fun’, is about the emotional weight and impact this trauma has on individuals and families, it’s an attempt at highlighting how the weight of past experiences can stop the freedom and joy that should be a necessity in life”.

On rager ‘Warfare’ vocalist and frontman Max Williams discusses disillusionment with notable honesty. “This is about possibly the lowest point in my life, when having no job prospects and having to turn to work on a building site 6 or 7 days a week. The demanding aspects of working in construction with no prospects on the horizon, every day your body taking a battering, both mentally and physically, whilst being on a menial wage”.

‘Marked Man’ speaks to their experiences growing up in Harlow, and the idea of having your life predetermined by where you’re born. It’s also about the pride that can come from one’s hometown, “even if it’s not traditionally considered a ‘nice’ place. This also touches on the prejudged ideologies that people have of working class new towns. The fact people ‘knew I’d be from Essex’ as soon they’ve heard my estuary tone of voice”.

Finally of ‘44’, they explain “On a somewhat lighter note, but still on the humdrum topic of never feeling good enough, 44 is about the late comedian Tony Hancock. After listening to possibly every episode of ‘Hancock’s half hour’, I decided to join the Tony Hancock appreciation society and became somewhat infatuated with the ‘legend’ status surrounding one of Britain’s funniest minds – who also suffered with severe bouts of depression, which ultimately resulted in him taking his own life at the age of 44, leaving the note; Things just seemed to go too wrong too many times”.

Standard Process founder Chris Dodd tells us that “Standard Process is a record label based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, inspired by the wave of anarcho-punk bands that spilled out from the county in the late 70s and early 80s. From Letchworth’s Chron Gen to Bishop Stortford’s Flux of Pink Indians, Hertfordshire was home to revolutionary artists who organised heads from Bovingdon all the way to Boston. Standard Process is for the proletariat, by the proletariat. Songs for workers from England’s glorious County of Opportunity”.

Rifle
Under To Flags
Tracklist

Under Two Flags
Disorderly
Marked Man
Warfare
44

Music Credits

Vocals – Max Williams
Guitar – Cam Sims
Guitar – Albert Dury
Bass – Ross Whelan
Drums – Flynn Whelan

Mixed and Recorded – Jonah Falco
Sound Engineer – Ben Spence, recorded at Fuzzbrain
Mastered – Daniel Husayn at NLBF