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This album's brilliance comes from the titanium-larynxed Tom Gabel's juxtaposition of the listener's jaded expectations of punk with too-direct-to-be-dishonest sentiments.
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The surprise is in just how much White Crosses succeeds at blurring the dividing line between punk rock ethos and boistrous radio rock.
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2007's New Wave was an artistic and commercial breakthrough for Against Me!, the formerly stripped-down punk act, setting frontman Tom Gabel's strident, socially aware lyrics against melodic hooks via producer Butch Vig. That relationship is revisited on White Crosses.
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Packed with bloated hooks, White Crosses is meant to be easily digestible: "Suffocation" and the title track glide effortlessly on shining guitar riffs, while "I Was A Teenage Anarchist" and "Bamboo Bones" explode with soaring harmony.
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Kerrang!Nov 17, 2011A triumph. [29 Oct 2011, p.52]
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RevolverSure, White Crosses is the most polished and pop-inflected album of Against Me!'s polarizing punk career--but underneath the studio sheen, the Butch Vig-produced disc also contains some of the band's best material to date. [Jul/Aug 2010, p.92]
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Against Me!'s roots in punk and newfound interest in arena-rock should make them doubly disposed against any kind of subtlety, which makes it all the more refreshing when White Crosses only occasionally veers into the self-serious terrain for which both genres are known.
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The biggest criticism that can be labelled at White Crosses is that its best two songs are its first two â?? a politely rousing title-track that sheds its skin at the first chorus, followed by lead-off single I Was a Teenage Anarchist. The latter handily epitomises everything that people liked about Against Me! in the first place â?? a brightly intelligent polemic, only this time itâ??s trained on the close-minded futility of scenester punks.
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The album is packed full of glossy guitar riffs, silly sing a long lyrics, and bombastic arena-rock choruses.
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White Crosses is all shiny and fresh and proudly expedient, without proving a thing except that Against Me! are fully capable of doing it again.
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Mostly known for delivering folk-punk anthems, Against Me! delivers a no-fuss rock collection with its latest release.
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White Crosses is a huge, mainstream rock album that draws as much from Bruce Springsteen and U2 as it does from their own folk-punk roots.
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He can disavow his youthful rage all day, but Gabel is at his best when he's feisty.
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White Crosses is a big-sounding album with a blue-collar soul, but though the guitars may aim for the rafters alongside lofty, singalong choruses, the songwriting ultimately comes off safer and more commonplace than anything they've done yet.
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It's great to know the band still have some ire burning, but White Crosses is a crushing listen for someone who bought into Against Me!'s revolution.
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Alternative PressAgainst Me! were great because of their flaws, not in spite of them--White Crosses just isn't that much fun to listen to. [Jun 2010, p.102]
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The arena-huge tunes can get a little overbearing, but cuts like the title track â?? where Gabel yearns to smash white crosses displayed by anti-abortion activists â?? are righteous, churning gut-rollers.
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While White Crosses has a few stellar songs, it lets down as a complete record. Anarchy will have to wait a little longer.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 16 out of 24
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Mixed: 3 out of 24
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Negative: 5 out of 24
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Jan 15, 2013