Eargasm
AGAINST ME! >> NEW WAVE.
SIRE 2007

"New wave" was a term used in the late '70s/ early '80s to characterize bands that basically couldn't be easily categorized, so it's only fitting that a group that started off as nothing more than a 5-gallon drum, an acoustic guitar, and a voice would name their latest offering just that. New Wave finds Against Me! dodging arrested development and putting out an album that's more rock than anything they've released to date. And while this might bode well for fans like myself -- who find this progression natural and refreshing -- for the ever-present group of negativists out there who can't get over the band's decision to sign to a major label, New Wave will give them just another chance to cast stones from shadows and put AM!'s artistic integrity in question. And that's a travesty.  

True believers, however, can rest assured that even though New Wave was released on a multimillion dollar corporate label, you're not gonna find these guys moving to the Hollywood Hills and rubbing elbows with dicks like Fred Durst at Hef's mansion because of a little financial stability. And though their black T's may not be as dirty as they used to be, it's clear AM! still has a few feathers to ruffle: "A middle of the road opinion that no one finds offensive or challenging. I'm not interested. This stage is not a pedestal. I don't think you're bad people. I just think your aesthetic is horrible..." As heard on "Piss And Vinegar," a seemingly obvious observation on the state of music today. In contrast, AM! shows a softer side by enlisting Tegan Quin for "Borne On The FM Waves," which had me feeling like Jennifer Jason Leigh in the dugout of Make-Out Point in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Add to that a Tonight Show-worthy song ("Thrash Unreal"), the politically minded "White People For Peace," and production by the legendary Butch Vig, and it's no surprise that Against Me! once again has us all riding the crest of a New Wave. By Pratt the Terrible