Conflicted. That is the first word that comes to mind listening this newest Bad Religion record. It’s not a bad album and it’s not necessarily a good record either. The musicianship – topnotch. The hooks – abundant. The harmonies – straight out of Van Halen’s songbook (they’re awesome). Unfortunately, where the record falls apart is both its strength and its weakness. The songs that sound like old school Bad Religion -which could have easily blended into albums like No Control or Suffer – are fantastic. However, they sound exactly like those albums and that smells of formula and stagnation. Now Bad Religion have been around long enough to know that they need to throw some ‘experiments’ into the mix. This is a good thing, however for this record those ‘experiments’ reek of desperation. Pedal steel does not belong on a Bad Religion record. And, after multiple listens, it makes sense that Weezer is now on their label. (Epitaph, www.epitaph.com) c.frsn
Winnipeg music & culture since 1989