Against Me! - New Wave

It's not very often that I like [much less support] overly political bands. For me, I hate to see influential people using their celebrity status to sway impressionable youths. A few years ago, my friend Jonathan and I saw Cursive, Darkest Hour, and Mike Park play in Columbus on the "Plea For Peace Tour". It may as well have been a campaign rally for John Kerry. Between nearly every song, it was a guarantee that all that could be heard was swear words in connotation with President Bush. All of that is to say that I hate that. I was there to listen to good music, not a political campaign.

Against Me! is a band that very much has a political agenda, though they aren't outwardly condemning President Bush [at least in their music so far as I can tell]. Their songs call for peace and understanding and unity. I feel like these are ideals that everyone can appreciate. Put these ideals to aggressive punk music and growled vocals and you have Against Me!.

"New Wave" is easily their most accessible and commercial album to date, though not bad by any means. Catchy as all get out, and even featuring Tegan from indie-pop duo Tegan & Sara on a ballad-of-sorts, the boys have proven themselves as a band that is ready to take the world by storm.

Tracklisting:
1. New Wave
2. Up The Cuts
3. Thrash Unreal
4. White People For Peace
5. Stop
6. Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart
7. Piss and Vinegar
8. American Abroad
9. Animal
10. The Ocean

Highlight Tracks: "Thrash Unreal", "White People For Peace", "Stop", "Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart", "Piss and Vinegar"