Bad Religion - "The Dissent Of Man"
Bad Religion is an institution. By now, reviews are nearly pointless. If you've enjoyed any one of their fourteen previous albums, you'll certainly enjoy this one. If you don't like them, "The Dissent Of Man" won't change your opinion. And if you haven't heard Bad Religion, you probably don't care about punk at all.
It's obvious that Graffin, Gurewitz & Co. have figured punk out. They make compelling songs so frequently that it seems almost effortless. The template works incredibly well: folky melodies, multi-part vocal harmonies, and compelling and erudite lyrics that reward close inspection. This is the formula they've followed since "Suffer," and there's certainly no reason for them to change. I'm certain they could pump out another fifteen albums that sound just as good as this one.
Yet there are signs that Bad Religion is starting to take a different path. This album feels a lot more introspective than recent efforts. There are the obligatory superfast melodic hardcore songs, but it doesn't seem like they got the attention of some of the slower numbers. That's fine, though. Apart from prodigy drummer Brooks Wackerman, the band is pushing 50. Graffin is a professor, and Gurewitz runs one of the most successful indie labels on the planet. I'm hesitant to say that the fast songs were overlooked or that Bad Religion is slowing down, but if that were the case, I'd hardly have right to complain. I could last a long time on a supply of midtempo rockers like "The Devil In Stitches" or "Cyanide."
The songwriting and the lyrics are both classic Graffin. Gurewitz keeps this from turning into another "No Substance," but the songwriting is still reminiscent of the band's late 90s efforts. The lyrics are intense even by Graffin standards, reaching a level not seen since "The Process Of Belief." The two preceding albums had their share of political lyrics, but here Graffin returns to his favorite topic of religion. There's no single song with the lyrical weight of "Materialist" -- a song that has had a serious impact on my view of the world -- but there are many that come close.
A few weeks ago, Graffin made an unfortunate comparison: if the previous three albums "The Process Of Belief," "The Empire Strikes First," and "New Maps Of Hell" corresponded roughly to "Suffer," "No Control," and "Against The Grain," then this would be analogous to "Recipe For Hate." This was not reassuring: I consider "Recipe" to be their weakest album by far. Fortunately, there's not a strong resemblance. While there are similarities -- the guitar tone on "Cyanide" recalls "Man With A Mission" -- there are many such references to other albums. "Meeting Of The Minds" is essentially a rearranged version of "Germs Of Perfection." The "yeah yeah yeahs" in "The Resist Stance" are straight out of "21st Century Digital Boy." The whoa-ohs on "Cyanide" are identical to the chorus in "The Watchmaker's Dial" on Graffin's most recent solo effort. There are dozens of other little moments and phrases that instantly make you flash back to another Bad Religion album.
This album won't impress anyone who thinks that Bad Religion just continually rips on their previous efforts. Fortunately, their collected works comprise some of the best punk rock ever written. A band could do a lot worse.
It's obvious that Graffin, Gurewitz & Co. have figured punk out. They make compelling songs so frequently that it seems almost effortless. The template works incredibly well: folky melodies, multi-part vocal harmonies, and compelling and erudite lyrics that reward close inspection. This is the formula they've followed since "Suffer," and there's certainly no reason for them to change. I'm certain they could pump out another fifteen albums that sound just as good as this one.
Yet there are signs that Bad Religion is starting to take a different path. This album feels a lot more introspective than recent efforts. There are the obligatory superfast melodic hardcore songs, but it doesn't seem like they got the attention of some of the slower numbers. That's fine, though. Apart from prodigy drummer Brooks Wackerman, the band is pushing 50. Graffin is a professor, and Gurewitz runs one of the most successful indie labels on the planet. I'm hesitant to say that the fast songs were overlooked or that Bad Religion is slowing down, but if that were the case, I'd hardly have right to complain. I could last a long time on a supply of midtempo rockers like "The Devil In Stitches" or "Cyanide."
The songwriting and the lyrics are both classic Graffin. Gurewitz keeps this from turning into another "No Substance," but the songwriting is still reminiscent of the band's late 90s efforts. The lyrics are intense even by Graffin standards, reaching a level not seen since "The Process Of Belief." The two preceding albums had their share of political lyrics, but here Graffin returns to his favorite topic of religion. There's no single song with the lyrical weight of "Materialist" -- a song that has had a serious impact on my view of the world -- but there are many that come close.
A few weeks ago, Graffin made an unfortunate comparison: if the previous three albums "The Process Of Belief," "The Empire Strikes First," and "New Maps Of Hell" corresponded roughly to "Suffer," "No Control," and "Against The Grain," then this would be analogous to "Recipe For Hate." This was not reassuring: I consider "Recipe" to be their weakest album by far. Fortunately, there's not a strong resemblance. While there are similarities -- the guitar tone on "Cyanide" recalls "Man With A Mission" -- there are many such references to other albums. "Meeting Of The Minds" is essentially a rearranged version of "Germs Of Perfection." The "yeah yeah yeahs" in "The Resist Stance" are straight out of "21st Century Digital Boy." The whoa-ohs on "Cyanide" are identical to the chorus in "The Watchmaker's Dial" on Graffin's most recent solo effort. There are dozens of other little moments and phrases that instantly make you flash back to another Bad Religion album.
This album won't impress anyone who thinks that Bad Religion just continually rips on their previous efforts. Fortunately, their collected works comprise some of the best punk rock ever written. A band could do a lot worse.
posted by Charles Krohn at 12:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home