The problem comes when you get too specific with the lyrics. Alright Gallows might not resonate much with people outside the UK but in it, they're still relevant 10 years later. Refused's lyrics on Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent still stand up 23 years later. Even Rage Against the Machine did it. Whereas other albums, like Ministry's Bush era, just don't have anything to make them matter once Dubya left office. Prophets of Rage are likely to fall into the same problems. Stray From the Path have toed the line a bit too closely, making some songs more ambiguous, but also being way too specific at times.

I expect a band as capable as BR to subvert expectation and not throw limp-wristed jabs at political low-hanging fruit.

They could talk about me-too, rocketry, and the moral ethical implications of automation/AI.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

It's just... for a band that is so adamant about thinking for yourself, questioning status quo and institutions and coming together to solve societal issues, they're preaching liberal ideology, promoting status quo politics and media talking points, encouraging divisive partisanship and going full Them Vs Us. Pro-establishment boomer punk, eww

i think you're reading way too much into what is just basically run-of-the-mill punk lyrics, but also you don't really give a reason as to why those things are bad, you just say they are. you also don't need to go on a massive essay to add an example which proves their point, you could just quote a line.

@dats yes and no to that. plenty of hyper-specific political songs stand up today - for an example of a bush track, lil wayne's 'georgia bush' is still both jammable and poignat. but yes these can come across as hamfisted if there isn't much tact to it

also when you say 'thinking for yourself' that doesn't mean you don't give out your point of view once you have one

'going full Them Vs Us'

thats the entire history of punk my dude

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

If you read any of their recent interviews, they make it pretty clear they're making a black-and-white statement with this album. There's really not much subtlety in a song like TKAAR or Big Black Dog, they're labeling people outright. It's an immature and negative viewpoint to classify everything on the other side as evil or wrong, which is what they do frequently on the record.



Big Black Dog lyrics:

[Verse 1]

We are alone

And all is one

The father daughter devil and son

They deal in art

The art of the deal

They sing Seig Heils in aisles of high heels



[Chorus]

Big cyber-weapon, little traitor in chief

He's got a big black dog on a leash



Silly moralizing and demonizing the opposition, what's good about that?

Album Rating: 2.5

Interesting that you thought Lose Your Head is one of the worst tracks, it's the first song here I genuinely like. The preceding 4 tracks just kinda sound like the band is on autopilot to me

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

I love it when Bad Religion does mid-tempo stuff but I just feel like the poppier songs on here are really stock/cliche-sounding at times. It's really not a bad record at all but it's a bit of a letdown after the last 5 really strong outings. Half the songs just do nothing for me musically and the production is weird too, the guitars don't have that bite and Jamie's boring drums & Greg are mixed too high

Album Rating: 2.0

I sort of hate this. A lot of it borders on soft rock

Album Rating: 2.5

Yeah no way this is any higher than a 3. I agree the drums on this are bland as shit and the production is oddly flat.



I also find it fascinating how hard these guys are leaning into the "objectivity and reason" angle and the greek statues and all, when all those things have largely been co-opted by folks who are decidedly less left-leaning.

My issue with this album’s lyrics isn’t that they’re unabashedly partisan. It’s that they’re unabashedly partisan in an uninteresting, surface-level, CNN talking head type of way. This is especially disappointing coming from a band whose best work is genuinely insightful and contemplative.

I havent listened to this album yet, but albums like the empire strikes first were 100% anti bush, the band said so themselves. However there was some level of nuance there with that record. You had to dig and analyze the lyrics.

I will probably like this record because I like bad religion and I think trump is a moron. However I could see being turned off a little bit if the lyrics are too obvious, but i'll see when I listen to it.

edit: I think somebody nailed the head earlier when they said some political songs/albums are still relevant even though the guy you dislike isn't in office any more. Thats probably why the anti bush Empire has so much staying power.

Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound Off

this is cool. the good songs are super tight the softer songs are kinda ass tho which ultimately drags this down

"Bad Religion have never been so bluntly political"

idk if you've ever listened to bad religion before but they've been so bluntly political since day one, they've never, EVER been subtle about it

their first album is literally a bloodred city scape with the title "how could hell be any worse" lol like how political do they need to be before you realise YOU'RE the one who's changed here, not them. they're not saying anything they haven't been saying since their inception

the only reason the reviewer is upset with these lyrics is because he doesn't like their political angle. which is, fine, i guess, but it makes me wonder if you've ever really known what they sung about before or if you've only just grown up enough to realise you're a pathetic centrist lol

Honestly how is a lyric like this:

"Big cyber-weapon, little traitor in chief

He's got a big black dog on a leash"

any less on the nose in the political climate of the day to this:

"The businessman whose master plan
Controls the world each day
Is blind to indications of
His species' slow decay"

I gave a couple of examples, one being that the message of "Do The Paranoid Style" is mocking conspiracy theorists while Brett himself pushed a fabricated conspiracy theory for years on Twitter. The album has tons of lines that come off as hilariously lacking self-awareness

i knew you were a fucking tool, but yikes

this you too yeah? tell me more about why you don't like this record because bad religion have lost the nuance they're famous for

MAGA Mark (@strizzmatik) | Twitter
https://twitter.com/strizzmatik

Album Rating: 2.5

Hoooooooooooooooo boy