Against Me! Music Review

Been listening to the new Against Me! album, New Wave, recently. Well, I shouldn't make it sound like I've been listening to it everyday and giving it the attention necessary to write a proper review, but what the hell, this is my blog and I'll write half-educated music reviews if I damn well please. This is a freaking great album. The whole collection just has something different about its sound, and I haven't really been able to put a finger on what it is because it's more of a collection of uniqueness than one standout quality. Lead singer, Tom Gabel's voice has a bit of a scratchy, "I can only sing when I scream" quality to it, but I dig it and it seems to work for their music. Sort of makes you want to scream along with him, which makes for a great tension release and a few embarrassing moments when another driver laughs at your singing on the freeway. The drums are another strong point for these up and comers. Warren Oakes pounds his set like he has a score to settle, which makes for a very aggressive, yet catchy sound. Lead guitar, played by James Bowman, isn't exactly going to inspire memories of Kirk Hammett or Jimmy Page, but it's more than adequate and his ability to hit the high notes on back up vocals provides a nice contrast to Gabel's screeching rants.

As much as it pains me to say it, the jewel of the album is "Thrash Unreal." I say it that way because the song has been played to death on my local radio station (FM 94.9 for those interested in listening online....great alternative station), and that usually means a song is candy-ass enough to appeal to the masses. In this case, though, I think the radio has got it right. They chose the song that most appeals to the masses, but also happens to be the best song on the album. It starts with a simple riff that warns of much heaviness to come. Gabel's vocals and Oakes' drums quickly take over and it's a musical assault from there. One could easily mistakenly brand the song "mainstream" after hearing the group sing "ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-bada" during the chorus, but a quick listen to the lyrics of the song would expose that take as far from the truth. The song is in fact about a heroine-destroyed girl and overextended youthful partying.

Most of today's music is pretty run-of-the-mill crap, with super clean drums, way-too -predictable guitar and vocals that say "I need to feel important", but fall well short of their mark. New Wave presents something much more satisfying and original. Listening to it gives me the feeling that Against Me! really doesn't give a shit what I think about their music, but if after a listen or two I do like the album, then hey, they're happy that I do. I give this album solid 4 stars out of 5. So go an buy it, or download it if you're the digital type. Just make sure you write the band and tell them there's an obscure blogger out there who is promoting their music.


Cheers,
TWF