Customer Reviews

New America

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Definately the most well-written Bad Religion album. I just can't stop listening to this. I've been into BR for a while now, and I own all of their albums. I love Suffer, No Control, etc., and even though this isn't their fastest one, it's definately the heaviest. This is mostly because of the heavy guitar riffs, and Bobby's amazing drumming, but what really stands out on this album is Greg's voice. It's stronger than ever, and really gets you going! All of the songs stand out for me, especially A Streetkid Named Desire (I had that mp3 a month before the album came out, and I still can't stop listening to it), You've Got A Chance, New America (We Are The New America, Wa-oh, Wa-oh!), 1000 Memories, which holds a lot of meaning to me, Believe It, which Brett co-wrote and played guitar in, The Hopeless Housewife with an amazingly explosive chorus, and Don't Sell Me Short, which is probably BR's most upbeat and heaviest song, it's simply 4 minutes of thrashing, head-through-the-ceiling punk. I listen to a lot of different music, and this album is probably the best one I've ever heard. Triumphant, Greg Graffin style intelligent lyrics that get you thinking, but, for a change, in a less-depressing way. I've been listening to this album non-stop for a week now..JUST BUY IT ALREADY!

I've had this CD for over a month, in the form of MP3's. Illegal, maybe, unethical yes, so sue me.

Anyway, this is just to establish the fact that I am not just an excited BR fan who bought the album yesterday or today, rushed home and gave it five stars without a second thought. I've thought about this.

It seems that some BR fans, such as huttonb@home.com, are expecting No Control or Against the Grain or Suffer to be rereleased year after year after year. If that's the kind of fan you are, stay away from this album.

However, if you're looking for amazing harmonies, phenomenal melodies and great instrumentals, this is THE CD to buy. Not only that, but Greg's lyrics are impressive (as usual) and have more of an uplifting tone to them, which I rather enjoyed. He also seems to be better dealing with being the band's lone songwriter.. much better than he did on No Substance, at the very least. Of course, there is some classic Bad Religion ferocity - check out Don't Sell Me Short, The Hopeless Housewife, 1000 Memories, etc. Great songs. Naturally, the others are too!

BUT: Frankly I didn't like the album much at all the day I got it. However, I listened, and much like Rancid's latest, NOFX's SLATFATS, and even the new No Use For a Name CD, it grew on me. A lot. It's definitely a LOT better than No Substance, and I put it on par with the Gray/Grey Race, which is one of my favorite BR albums. One of my favorite albums, period, actually.

In short, this is an amazing album, and it shows a lot of maturity & progression musically and lyrically from the boys. They've been one of my favorite bands for a while, and this amazing (have I said amazing enough yet?) record does nothing to deter that. Approach this album with an open mind, give it a few listens, (and ignore the silly song titles) and I guarantee you'll love it. Or, you know, I'll have to kill you.

Oh, and for those of you preoccupied with this sort of stuff, my favorite tracks are Don't Sell Me Short (best song on the disc IMHO), A Streetkid Named Desire (which sounds kinda Brett-ish to me), Believe It, and Let It Burn. Great release. Easy five stars.

If there's one thing that I cannot stand related to this style of music, it's the "Punker than thou" punks. I'm talking about the people who chastised the past few NOFX albums. I'm talking about the people who broke up the Descendents. I'm talking about the people who made Green Day afraid to play a show from 1998 to 1999. And yes, you guessed it, I'm talking about the same idiots (who must have the attention span of a tadpole) giving this Bad Religion CD a bad review. Don't listen to them. Allright, It's not Suffer or No Control. I'll give you that. But comparing it to Recipe for Hate or the Gray Race, that's just being deaf, blind, and stupid! For a Bad Religion album, it's better than average, but for an album such as this to come out in this day and age, we should all be willing to donate a kidney to Greg Graffin for giving the world some lyrical skill in the midst of all of the teen pop and Korn wannabees. Anyway, about the album, It starts off strong and ends strong. At no point on this album does the world's most influential punk band dissapoint me. I love "The New America," "Don't Sell Me Short," and "You've Got a Chance." Pick up this disc and spread the word to your friends that punk isn't dead. If you first heard of Bad Religion when you saw them with Blink-182, this album isn't for you. First pick up Suffer, Against the Grain, and No Control. But, for the loyal Bad Religion fans, pick up this CD and give it a chance.

Probably being Bad Religion's most controversial release of their career, "The New America" is the album that almost put the nail in the group's coffin. Honestly I've listened to this album hundreds of times. I've tried to give it every possible chance I could to somehow see the genius in it, just like I've done for "The Grey Race" and "No Substance". But no matter how many times I listen to this album, I still arrive at the same conclusion; This is by far Bad Religion's worst release. Now before going off and getting upset, there's plenty of legitimate and justifiable reasons as to why this album is bad. For a band of this standard (probably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, punk bands of modern music) this album is just not up to par. Although I give them plenty of credit for releasing this (hey it had been 19 years since they had put out their first album "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?"), there's no way I can honestly say that this sounds like it should have come from an amazing band like Bad Religion.

A brief history note first:
Bad Religion's career can basically be separated into four distinct eras. First there is their beginning which housed anything they released before their brief breakup and then reuniting (anything that was released before "Suffer"). Next there is their prime, which saw them release a string of unbelievably good releases ("Suffer", "No Control", "Against The Grain", "Generator" and "Recipe For Hate"). Following you have their post-Brett period which showcased three below-average-for-this-band quality albums ("The Grey Race", "No Substance" and this record "The New America"), and finally the current era which now has them reunited with Brett and has seen two great pieces of music ("The Process Of Belief" and "The Empire Strikes First"). Of course there are albums which fall out of these four respected divisions (Their compilations and various EPs and "Stranger Than Fiction" which was their transition album from "Recipe For Hate" (prime era) to "The Grey Race" (not so good era)).

"The New America" was the last of three mediocre albums from Bad Religion. Compared to anything the band put out in their "Suffer" era, this album feels totally recycled and contrived. The songs themselves hold no real substance and seem to drag on much past their relevance, even when they're only three minutes. I swore I heard better versions of these songs on previous releases. For a band which was known for great guitar solos, powerful melodies and insightful lyrics, you'd never guess it. While there are a few good tracks ("You've Got A Chance", "1000 Memories" and "Don't Sell Me Short"), most everything here is slow and boring. The passion that embodied previous releases is all but gone, and for sake of sounding over-critical the band really does sound like they were ready to throw in the towel. In the past Bad Religion were known prominently for their distinct political messages and views on free-thinking and religion, but this time around the lyrics are all but stale (and of considerably lesser quality than anything written previously). Not to mention Greg seems terribly uninterested in singing them. His voice used to have a certain presence to it, but now it just feels like he's going through the motions (much like the rest of the band), almost like "ok let's do another album, here's my vocals". Look at "Whisper In Time" or the god awful "I Love My Computer" and try to tell me different. Also there's a terrible use of the backing vocals that have always made Bad Religion's music so great.

There are plenty of reasons which could be attributed to why these things make this album bad. One could argue Bad Religion had simply run out of ideas, and no longer possessed the same intensity and passion for writing music that they did on their earlier releases. However the following record "Process of Belief" totally destroys that theory. It could also be said that the label (Atlantic) had a hand in this and changed the band's sound. Too bad they were dropped shortly after this record hit the shelves. The simplest explanation was simply that they were in a slump after parting ways with Brett (who left the band to manage his record label Epitaph primarily). If you look at their last album with Brett, "Stranger Than Fiction" and their first one after reuniting with him, "The Process Of Belief", this seems to be the most logical explanation. The three albums that fell in between these two releases are anything but memorable and show just how much the band suffered from Brett's departure.

Now I understand that Bad Religion are no longer in this slump (just listen to "Process Of Belief"), but that doesn't make this album any better. "The New America" is totally forgettable, and almost laughable at times. Not laughing in the good way though, laughing in the way that you can't believe you spent money on it. Aside from the 3 or 4 good songs, you have an album more or less compiled of "No Substance" and "The Grey Race" b-sides (or so it feels like) and that's not a good thing. Even if I had never heard another Bad Religion release, I still wouldn't change my view on this record. Boring music is boring music. Period. While I have the utmost respect for this band and what they do, and they still are one of my highest regarded and favorite groups, "The New America" is simply not up to standards. If you are looking for something from these guys, check out anything from "Suffer" to "Recipe For Hate" first. If you must, sample "The New America" sparingly. While it may not be anything to write home about, at least it paved the way for Bad Religion to return back to Epitaph and release the phenomenal "Process Of Belief". For that reason I guess it serves some purpose. Otherwise avoid.

The New America is rife with hard-hitting punk sounds, lyrical catchiness, amazing production, and some sort of optimism which is new for Bad Religion. Songs such as "You've Got a Chance", "New America", and "There Will Be A Way" explore the possiblities which do in fact lie in the hands of daily American life. While maintaining their usual call to activism, Bad Religion embraces a progressively optimistic examination of the current American situation. For those lovers of their traditional sarcastic/ironic take on American life, tracks such as "My Computer" should satisfy. A must listen for the individual who is willing to explore what the modern punk movement can be about.

I have all BR's studio albums except No Substance and the Gray Race, and of the ones I own I can say that Recipe for Hate is the worst, and Generator is the best. The New America is slammed a lot by people who have nothing better to do, but in truth it is a good album. The lyrics are a hell of a lot more optimistic and upliftng than albums like Suffer, No Control and Generator, and the sound is more pop, but I still like it.

One thing, I have seen a lot of people mention how much of a geek Greg is fro writing "I love my computer". It saddens me that i need to explain this, but the song is ironic, and it condemns how we are nothing but a soul-less race who care more about our technology than each other. It is not to be taken literally, you idiots. In fact, much the same point is made in "21st Century (Digital Boy)", so all you stupid "Only the first Epitaph years are worth listening to" people have nothing to complain about. For once.

All in all, this is a good album, and as good a place to start as any (but it's a little hard to find here in England).

I really wonder what Atlantic Records did to the old Bad Religion. You know, the Bad Religion that wrapped up a 15 song CD in under a half hour and it was just dripping with anger and passion. What you get here is a slick, fluffy, poppy, overproduced 13-track CD that takes over 40 minutes to finish. Parts of it sound like something a slightly more mature and intelligent Blink 182 would release.

I'm making this CD sound worse than it really is. If this was another band, I wouldn't have ragged on it so bad. It's not another band though, it's Bad Religion, who I expect the world from. They've given it to me in the past, but the efforts from the last several years have been disappointing. With no major crisis going on in the world, Greg Graffin seems to have lost his focus.

Also of note, my trusty dictionary sat unused through listening to this CD.

I have one question: Why was The Fast Life not included on the American CD? It's way better than any of the other songs.

I miss the old Bad Religion.

BR's new studio release The New America is a vast improvement over No Substance. The overall feel of this album is lyrically more positive than the usual rants-against-the-government content that is contained in the majority of their songs. Not that this is a bad thing, though. "Let it Burn" has a powerful message about burying your past and rediscovering yourself. There is something to please the hardcore BR fans and the new BR fans. "The New America" is the typical anthemic fare we know and love. "You've Got a Chance" is a blazing opener as well. Overall, this album is worth the buy, especially if you take advantage of the free ticket you can send off for if you buy this new album in the first six days of its release.

With a much more up-beat nature to many of these songs as opposed to the usual cynicism, along with somewhat less daunting lyrics and a bit more "whoaaa"s in there, this is I think definitely Bad Religion's brightest CD. The band tries a couple different things on here, with Whisper in Time and There Will Be a Way actually sounding like Bad Religion mixed with REM. Not what I think many fans expected. (though There Will Be a Way actually grew on me and is now one of my favorites on the CD.)

Luckily, there's still lots of typical Bad Religion-sounding songs on here (though again, more up-beat lyrically) like You've Got a Chance, 1000 Memories, Believe It, Let it Burn, and of course Don't Sell me Short sounding very much like the same band we know and love. Great stuff, especially Believe It and Let It Burn

Some of their more experimental tracks such as It's a Long Way to the Promise Land, A Streetkid Named Desire, and New America are what help the CD stand out from Bad Religion's catalogue, as does the up-beat nature and tone. The more pop-punk sound might not be what some Bad Religion fans may have expected, but in this case that's not a bad thing, since lyrically, New America is top-notch. The lyrics are much more personal, and musically, it's as catchy as the band's ever been. New America also has a very consistent sound to it, each song fitting well into the CD's atmosphere.

All in all, I prefer my Bad Religion a bit faster, and a couple songs (World Without Melody and I Love My Computer) are a little on the corny side, but this is still a great CD that's fun to listen to and it manages to stand out in the Bad Religion catalogue. The followup to this CD, Process of Belief, returned the band to its faster, more aggressive and cynical style of music, so knowing that, hopefully some fans can go back and appreciate New America a bit more without worrying that it would represent Bad Religion's future. They were just trying something new and I think they pulled it off.

So what if it's more pop punk than their other records. It's catchy, it sounds great and there's a massive amount of harmonies. I own every record from Bad Religion (even Into the Unkown) and I would have to say this is probably in my top 3 favorite records from them along with Suffer and No Control. Give it a chance, stop thinking it's uncool to like pop punk and enjoy some music that's by far better than most everything else that is out there today.