White Crosses

When we last heard from Against Me!, they were earning mainstream recognition for their major label debut, New Wave. They had a minor hit single in “Thrash Unreal” and even a romantic-sounding duet with Tegan of indie darlings Tegan and Sara. The production from Butch Vig toned down some of the band’s punk grit and emphasized a more expansive, rock-oriented sound. But all was not lost for the hardcore audience who discovered th e band when Against Me! were angry punks on small labels. There was still plenty of left-wing fury from bandleader Tom Gabel on the album. “Thrash Unreal” was even about an ex-junkie trying to hang on to her youth. When Gabel released his subsequent solo EP Heart Burns, it consisted largely of raw, yet catchy, mostly-acoustic protest songs. There was reason to hope that the full band’s follow-up to New Wave might hearken back to the early days.

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