Category: | Review - Internet | Publish date: | 1/24/2013 |
Source: | shieldsgazette.com (United Kingdom) | ||
Synopsis: |
True North
CALIFORNIAN punks Bad Religion have been churning out albums now for more than 30 years without really changing their style, and this is their 16th studio offering.
But the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, why fix it?’ makes perfect sense in the case of BR guitarist/Epitaph label owner Brett Gurewitz and his band.
They deal in fast-paced, hook-laden anthemic songs, many of which carry a political message to boot, and few in the genre do it better.
The common complaint is that they sound too samey, and that can be the case.
Singer Greg Graffin has one of the most recognizable voices in punk, and a casual listener might struggle to discern one Bad Religion album from another. Here, Dharma And The Bomb and Hello Cruel World offer a change of pace, but not necessarily for the better, and it’s tracks like Robin Hood In Reverse and Changing Tide for which this album will be remembered.
It’s not their best LP, and won’t win many new fans at this stage in their career, but they’re already preaching to the faithful. 7/10. GW