Alfred

I have never heard any of Against Me!'s albums previous to "New Wave" but the general conensus is that they're better compared to the newer "mainstream stadium rock sh*t". Now, I can feel these fans. I'm a much bigger fan of Alexisonfire's older, rawer hardcore sound as opposed to their new, straight-up, more mainstream-friendly sound, and I'd imagine that's the same type of thing Against Me fans think. I guess, yet again, it's all a matter of expectations. I was expecting a collection of punky singalong songs and that's exactly what I got.

Lyrically, the album is harsh and literal, but musically, most of the bands that flood MTV couldn't do a better job of bringing the catchiness. The lead single, "Thrash Unreal" is one of the most infectious songs of the previous decade. Even the more punk-based songs like "American Abroad" and the title track bring in the hooks.

So I'm gonna go ahead and recommend that everyone listens to this album first or else you'll be like their other fans, bitching about how they've "sold out". Those people need to move on. This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb anyone?

I give it one Etnies shoe out of a possible Vans.