Oakland, San Francisco's rugged, broken-bottle-wielding sibling, has a great tradition of gritty punk with an intelligent, political bent, but it's got an equal history of punkers wading into pop's pool for a refreshing dip. American Steel, returning here after a six-year hiatus, represent the best of both worlds with their fiery, soaring anthems. Comparisons to the Clash are inevitable, but their attention to gritty, soulful songcraft shows more depth than just simple imitation. The "future" in the title is that of the corporate fat cats and crooked politicians that have made the ground fertile again for this kind of protest punk, and American Steel thank them by spitting bilious, pointed songs such as "Sons of Avarice" back in their collective face.