Maybe There’s Something Wrong With The Audience
September 29th, 2005 . by Quinton
A few weeks ago Against Me! released their third full length album entitled Searching For A Former Clarity. I hesitated for a while to write this review because I was not entirely certain of how much I liked the album.
I’m not a fan of much of the newer punk that comes out, although I grew up listening to so much of it. And I’m still a big fan of punk and hardcore from the 70’s and 80’s, but it seems like most of the bands on punk labels these days are bland and have a hard time identifying themselves.
That being said, I’ve loved everything Against Me! has ever put out… but some feel that they have migrated to a more mainstream sound in the past few years. In the beginning, Against Me! were only a drummer and an acoustic guitar screaming through three minute songs. Now they’re a four piece and have been for quite some time. They’ve gone electric, back to acoustic, and then back again. They’ve always had great lyrics and simple catchy songs that I want to listen to over and over again. Singer and song writer Tom Gable screams every song with so much emotion I can taste blood in my own mouth, and I love that.
Admittedly, the new album does have a different speed to it. It’s still angry and political (the way I like my punk) but not as fast and punchy as it used to be. They incorporated a few country western instruments, but keep singing with the same context. The more I listen to this album, the more I love it like the rest. I could write a book about these guys.
And for my money, they’re the most entertaining punk band to watch live. Check them out when they play the Epicentre in San Diego on October 30th.
