Send "Against Me! " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Lostatsea |
 Most pop-punkers were teenage anarchists wanting to smash white crosses on the church lawn. Even if they're older now, the sentiments have remained the same, and this, they argue, is what makes their music important, not to mention accessible for minors in need of a healthy outlet for their pubescent angst. Those unfamiliar with Against Me!'s unexpectedly rapid rise in quality and complexity since their major label output might be expecting more of the same, but White Crosses is no retread. Rather, it's an even more focused, equally compelling follow-up to 2007's arena-punk juggernaut New Wave. Maybe even better. This album's brilliance comes from the titanium-larynxed Tom Gabel's juxtaposition of the listener's jaded expectations of punk with too-direct-to-be-dishonest sentiments. Even track titles are telling. "Suffocation," right before "We're Breaking Up," scans as a personal struggle, with a simple, forthright refrain of "Suffocation! Modern life in the Western world!" knocking a listener ready to bitch about yet another breakup album a few feet backwards. Nobody here is trying to suppress their punk upbringing, instead using it as a solid foundation for more interesting, relatable themes, and Gabel certainly utilizes the intelligence and vocabulary he's picked up since his youth. "Because of the Shame," a track about the premature death of a lover, redefines sincerity. Gabel's startling admissions on general emotions ("Because of the shame I associate with vulnerability/I am numbing myself completely") are so vivid and plainspoken that by the final cry of "With your name tattooed into my skin," you might accidentally check your own arm to learn her name....full text |
| Absolutepunk |
| Beneath every great rivalry, there is always a line of mutual respect. For the most part. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning; Jack and Sawyer; Bill and Hillary Clinton. The only intense rivalry that raises a few questions are fans of Against Me. There are those who believe the band to be a shell of their former selves, and those who've grown right alongside them. It's a fierce competition that is about as pointless as that time Emmanuelle Lewis and Gary Coleman were pitted against one another: there's no clear winner, because they are both adorable! Anyone who has half-a-brain and has listened to Against Me for some time knows they were born to be who they are now. Now in his 30's, Tom Gabel is able to coyley pen songs like "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" with a bit of extensive knowledge for what he said then versus what's come to him now. Forget Reinventing Axl Rose -- Against Me is reinventing Tom Gabel. White Crosses is certainly their most auspicious yet "safe" affair, but after the critically-acclaimed New Wave, where else could the band go? Like Green Day did last year, the band conducted a massively appealing mainstream rock album and went even bigger in order to do what they'd love to do: sell out stadiums across the world. Can you blame a rock band for just wanting to write songs that sound huge and speak to a more general consensus than past tunes have? (Before you comment, it's rhetorical!) Butch Vig is back behind the boards this time around and merely asks the band to take their patented sound, but have it knock down a few brick walls in the process. Gabel has been incredibly vocal about his thought-process during the album's recording sessions, and with Tom Petty on the mind, it's clear he and his bandmates wanted to record an album that sounds, well, huge. The title track isn't exactly the best start out of the gate (b-side "One By One" feels like it would have been a perfect introductory track), but the lead single ("Teenage Anarchist") is everything that this band needs to say to both sides on this debate of whether or not the band is good anymore (not rhetorical). Not only is it an extensive middle finger salute to those who refuse to follow the band anymore, but it's a clear indication of Gabel admitting he's changed quite a bit since he started the band. He's still just as angry & confused as ever before, however the clear difference is, he doesn't allow it to control his writing -- which has always been the band's main draw. Gabel is still fitting in as many words as humanly possible in each verse, and listen to "Suffocation" to hear his trademark Elvis-like swagger. Against Me have grown up, and as with any other punk band who writes anthems of anarchy, it's a real agonizing change-up to swallow....full text |
| Ew |
| 2007's New Wave was an artistic and commercial breakthrough for Against Me!, the formerly stripped-down punk act, setting frontman Tom Gabel's strident, socially aware lyrics against melodic hooks via producer Butch Vig. That relationship is revisited on White Crosses, and whaddaya know, it is possible to merrily sing along with lines like ''We were bashing our brains out on a kitchen cabinet.'...full text |
Against Me! lyrics Music videoclips
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