After releasing two amazing major-label albums so polished they slipped right through punks' fingers, Against Me! are back, with no major behind them and with two new members, not to mention a decidedly more aggressive album. It's easy to miss the perfect, slick arena punk of their major-label duo of discs, but this one has all the energy and melodies of those songs, with a lot more anger behind it all.
"Dead Friends" and "Paralytic States" bring the melodies and pull at the heartstrings in the best of ways, while the inexplicably titled "FUCKMYLIFE666" sounds even better here than it did in its previous acoustic form. There are, unfortunately, a few songs that just don't connect, and when the album ends you're left feeling a bit unsatisfied, which is rare for this band. But it's still a great, short, raw blast of a melodic punk album, one that may not be a classic but is sure a lot of cathartic fun to listen to today.
(Total Treble)"Dead Friends" and "Paralytic States" bring the melodies and pull at the heartstrings in the best of ways, while the inexplicably titled "FUCKMYLIFE666" sounds even better here than it did in its previous acoustic form. There are, unfortunately, a few songs that just don't connect, and when the album ends you're left feeling a bit unsatisfied, which is rare for this band. But it's still a great, short, raw blast of a melodic punk album, one that may not be a classic but is sure a lot of cathartic fun to listen to today.
