When the Straight rings Anti-Flag frontman Justin Sane on a clear, sunny Vancouver day, the Pittsburgh native has spent the morning chopping wood for a fire to warm himself by after the previous night’s blizzard. But rather than seethe with envy while we Vancouverites laugh it up in Margaritaville, he sounds remarkably content.

The musician may not fit the image of burly lumberjack, but the four rabble-rousers in Anti-Flag have made it their mission for more than 20 years to light a fire under their loyal, politically minded fan base. Known as much for its catchy pop-punk anthems as its activism, Anti-Flag is staying true to its socially conscious roots with its 10th record, American Spring, due for release in May.

“We’ve been a band long enough now that we have fans who span a couple of generations,” Sane says. “And I think what ties all of the people who come to our shows together is that they understand what our band is about. Playing a show is about creating a sense of unity and family. It’s exciting to know that we’re going to a place where people care about changing the world and taking care of each other, not only globally but that night, at that show. From the very beginning, we were interested in creating a community around the music we love and what was important to us: the breaking down of barriers, whether that was nationalism, sexism, homophobia, or racism.”

With a mixture of humility and pride, he adds, “People have come up to me and said, ‘You know, I saw you years ago and you got me into activism, and I became a lawyer, and now I’m a public defender, and I work in the White House,’ and it just goes on. I hear these kinds of things all the time. And that’s a big payoff for what we’ve chosen to do with our lives.”

With no singles from the new album released yet, it’s difficult to gauge how Anti-Flag’s signature approach, inspired by the Ramones’ simplicity and the Clash’s integrity, has grown since 2012’s The General Strike. The band has kept its music fuelled by equal doses of aggression and compassion since its 1996 debut, Die for the Government. But the upcoming album’s title is a clear indication of its focus and spirit, American Spring being a direct salute to the grassroots activists behind 2010’s Arab Spring.

“No change will ever come unless people in power are challenged,” Sane says. “A big theme that we tackle on the new record is injustice, and of course I think that injustice leads to inequality. So on the record, we’re definitely looking at, for example, the prison-industrial complex in the United States, who the system protects and benefits, where you’ve got white-collar criminals who steal billions and spend no time in jail but instead pay fines, whereas people who maybe robbed the corner store or who are in possession of marijuana end up in prison for five to 20 years.”

Pointing to the ongoing efforts to decrease the wage gap, improve LGBT rights, and address police misconduct in the States, Sane continues: “These movements always come from the bottom up. People at the top don’t want change. They want things to stay exactly as they are, because they are benefiting.”

In the case of Sane’s band, however, the only thing that needs to stay the same is Anti-Flag’s love of classic punk ideals.

As the frontman puts it, “Punk rock is a progressive subculture that has always been ahead of the curve. I think that eventually broader society will catch up to us, but they aren’t there yet. It’s important to keep the ideas that we and other artists have expressed in our music flowing. Because, ultimately, it is artists who provide a vision to inspire people to go out and make a change.”

Anti-Flag plays Venue on Friday (March 13) and the Garibaldi Lift Co. Bar & Grill at Showcase Showdown in Whistler on Saturday (March 14).