Against Me! - Searching For A Former Clarity

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If punk rock could be defined by a voice, that voice would be Tom Gabel of Against Me! Searching for a Former Clarity is cleaner than Against Me!'s past albums but common punk themes remain the same. Against Me! has never been more mainstream, with videos airing on MTV and such a clean sound, many punks are going to be revolting against them but with each former fan they turn off, they'll find another - especially if they start playing larger, Clear Channel-owned stadiums. Their music is turning into pop punk while continuing to show off their punk roots.

They scream about assholes, jocks, and even scream out to Condoleeza, in "From Her Lips To God's Ears (The Energizer)" - "The President's giving a speech in Georgetown to remember the voice of a slain civil rights leader/Do you understand what the Martyr stood for?/Oh Condoleezza, do you get the fucking joke? [No!]/Condoleezza...What are we going to do now?" The music is cleaner, the vocals aren't as throaty but the vocals are just gritty enough to make the listener content.

If you think clean music and music videos on MTV constitutes as selling out - then don't listen, don't whine about it. But if you're into music for its themes and arrangements, than spin Against Me!, it's poppy enough for you to catch on quickly but not so poppy that you'll be hearing it played just after that Paris Hilton song on the radio.