I first heard Against Me! on Mitch Clem's compilation, Liquid Paper Vol. 4. In truth, that compilation really introduced me to a world of new music that would have otherwise gone missed. That was a few years ago. Lots of things transpired between then and now. My record collection has grown significantly, I've graduated college, and I've gotten a real job.
Also, Against Me! signed to a major record label.
Now, I know what you're thinking... "Ben, you're not punx enough to rip on these guys for selling out." That may be true. But I'm not going to rip on them for selling out. I'm going to praise them.
I don't own any other Against Me! albums besides their newest, New Wave. I also would not even own this one had it not been for their selling out. I listen to the radio on my way to work and that's where I heard Thrash Unreal for the first time.
As previously stated, I don't listen to these guys very much at all. When I first heard Thrash Unreal, I mistook the vocals Twisted Sister's Dee Snider. I thought, "Hmmm... This can't be Twisted Sister... Maybe Dee Snider has solo project or something... I had better check this out." I googled the lyrics and was stunned at what I found. Against Me!, the raunchy punk band I heard years before in passing on Liquid Paper vol 4, was getting air play.
So, I ended up getting the album on the strength of that one single alone. I must say, it's pretty bad ass. I think one of the things that confused me initially was the slow tempo. When I think "punk" I think "fast, up tempo". In that respect, it's hard for me to think of New Wave as punk. It's really slow. Really heavy. Which is awesome. It reminds of just some real, old-fashioned hard rock.
As I'm writing this, I'm listening through the album for the first time. I tend to subconsciously try to pull apart songs, singling out tracks, picking out the different instruments. A lot of music I hear, there's a lot of extra backing tracks stuck in there. It's very prominent in solo artist's work (because a single artist can't rightly play all the instruments himself...). On the other hand, I hear a lot of bands that sound kind of hollow because it's not mixed well. From what I can hear in New Wave, it's mixed perfectly. There's two guitars, vocals, a bass and a drum. I'm no expert, but in my opinion, the instruments have been mixed together very well, producing a full bodied sound without sounding over done.
The stand out track, for me, is track 6, Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart. Simply because there's an extra female vocal track. It mixes things up pretty well. And I like that it's right there in the middle. Nice breath of fresh air. I'm not saying that the album gets monotonous, though. There's a wide variety on there, while not straying far from that root punk sound. The songs are all different enough to not be boring, but are all the same enough to remain a cohesive album. It's something that I would not mind listening to on repeat, unshuffled.
If you're a fan of rock, give this album a listen to. If you're protesting it because it's Against Me's debut album on a major label, you're an idiot. The major labels (despite being money hungry carnivores) provide bands with resources and publicity. They may have sold out, but I'm reaping the benefits.
All in all, three thumbs up. But that's just my opinion.
~Ben
Resources:
New Wave at Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/New-Wave-Against-Me/dp/B000QFCD0Y/)
Against Me! at Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Against_Me%21)
Wisdom Archive
- August 2008 (2)
- July 2008 (2)
- June 2008 (3)
- May 2008 (3)
- April 2008 (4)
- March 2008 (7)
- February 2008 (6)
- January 2008 (1)
- December 2007 (3)
- November 2007 (9)
- October 2007 (26)
- August 2007 (1)
- June 2007 (1)
- May 2007 (1)
- March 2007 (1)
- February 2007 (2)
- December 2006 (4)
- November 2006 (4)
- October 2006 (5)
- September 2006 (2)
- August 2006 (1)
Categories
- poonheads (22)
- music (17)
- comic (16)
- site news (12)
- coding (11)
- Classic Wisdom (10)
- video (10)
- I Love Music (9)
- javascript (9)
- photo (9)
- rant (8)
- tutorial (8)
- web design (8)
- hardware (7)
- hobby (7)
- mustaches (7)
- gear (6)
- horrifying (6)
- story time (6)
- earworm (5)
- food (5)
- art (4)
- software (4)
- Coding for Complete Noobs (3)
- movie (3)
- Captain Numbskull (2)
- Everyday Wisdom (2)
- beverage (2)
- knives (2)
- review (2)
- toys (1)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
I Love Music: New Wave
Labels:
I Love Music,
music