PUNKISH
Against Me!
NEW WAVE
**1/2
The idea that Against Me! still had oodles in common with DIY-for-life punks was a laughable proposition long before the politicos signed with a major label—and not just because this going-mainstream move was in direct opposition to the “let’s mock the corporate big-suits” stance that permeated the band’s We’re Never Going Home DVD.
Founder Tom Gabel ditched the acoustic-based act that first brought Against Me! fame years before, while by the time 2005’s Searching for a Former Clarity invaded above-ground radio and TV, the group’s muscular tunes were punk by reputation only. But through all the scrutiny and criticism, the Gainesville, Florida, band always had something substantive and intelligent to say.
This element is sadly lacking on most of New Wave, which doesn’t do much to distinguish the band from other hi-fi rock acts. Driven by jagged music that sounds like The Clash circa London Calling, “Up the Cuts” laments the homogeneity of music and the growing phenomenon of music-as-product. But instead of coming to any conclusions (or acknowledging the irony of such statements), the song merely asks, “Is there any other alternative? Are you restless like me?” Wave’s subpar lyrics are a shame, because the album contains some crisp, radio-ready songs—the dance-punk “Stop!” could be a Franz Ferdinand B-side, and the Springsteen-anthemic “Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart” features solid backups from Tegan Quin—that could say so much more than actually they do.