Smoke Signals is an album by the hardcore punk

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 band MDC

MDC (band)

MDC is an American hardcore punk band formed in Austin, Texas in 1979. The band were subsequently based in San Francisco, California, and are currently based in Portland, Oregon. MDC originally formed as The Stains before changing their name...

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

Side One

1. "No More Cops"
2. "King of Thrash"
3. "Drink to Forget"
4. "The Big Picture"
5. "Skateboards from Hell"
6. "Tofutti"
7. "South Africa Is Free"

Side Two

1. "Acceptable Risks"
2. "Missile Destroyed Civilization"
3. "Soup Kitchen Celebrity"
4. "Country Squawk"
5. "Paradise Lost"
6. "Smoke Signals"

Personnel

Dave Dictor

Dave Dictor

Dave Dictor is the lead singer for the hardcore punk band MDC.Dictor was raised on Long Island and dropped out of Boston University in the 1970s. He taught public school in New York for five years. He spent a period of time living in Montana before moving to Austin, Texas, where he formed a band...

- lead vocals

Gordon Fraser - guitar

Franco - 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 [Ron 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"