Category: | Review - Internet | Publish date: | 1/22/2013 |
Source: | highlightmagazine.net (United States) | ||
Synopsis: |
True North
Bad Religion has been around since before most of Highlight’s readers were born, and they are still rocking harder than many of the more recent bands to hit the airwaves. Founded in 1979 in Los Angles, the California punk-rockers have spent the last 33 years proving that punk will never die.
True North, released on Jan. 22, is Bad Religion’s 16 studio album and quite frankly one of the band’s best (although I must admit that I haven’t listened to all 16 ), revisiting its earlier sounds from the late ‘80s and ‘90s that made punk hardcore more relevant than it had been before.
This album is one of the band’s best, not just because of the aforementioned reasons, but because almost all the songs on True North showcase the best of Greg Graffin and Bad Religion’s ability to rock three-person harmonies and showcase guitar solos without sounding like a dated punk band. And with the album only lasting 30 minutes, there is no reason you can’t take the time to listen to it.
And it wouldn’t be punk rock without political undertones, comments on America’s greed, economic unrest and a song titled “Fuck You.” This is undeniably one of the catchiest and best songs on the album, musically and lyrically. Despite the name, it is one of the calmer songs on the album.
“Robin Hood in Reverse” is rhythmically perfect with the guitar solo and the harmonies. They take stabs at Christianity and even use an old Sham 69 line (if you are unfamiliar, they are a British punk band that formed in the late ‘70s). Bad Religion seems to be back to its roots; hardcore.
The final track on the 16-track album, “Changing Tide,” is cleverly structured, like most songs on the album, and ends the album with the thoughts of evolution and change in an unsettling world.
I am glad to see that a band that has helped immortalize punk hardcore over the past 35 years is still rocking with the best of them. They are showing a new generation how to survive an ever-changing music industry. You can check out the album on Youtube and watch out for them on Jan. 30 on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Recommended Tracks: “Fuck You” and “True North
- Liz Brossard