Review Summary: "Somewhere between happy and total fucking wreck."
It ain't a 5 because it's perfect.
I feel an obligation to acknowledge that I don't even like every song on this album.
Bricks bores me, even though hardcore interests me, and Rise Against's older albums that skew closer to dysrhythmia end up pumping me up for the next few hours every time the record spins.
Something bizarre and wonderful takes hold for an album that you grow up with, jumping the hurdles of adolescence without any natural ability or sense of direction. An album, totally imperfect, becomes wonderful.
The Sufferer and the Witness brought me through tough times--learning to love with
But Tonight We Dance, a tough breakup with
The Approaching Curve and
Roadside, crawling out of strict parental control with
Prayer of the Refugee, crouched over a vomit-filled toilet with
Injection and shouldering medication-induced side effects with
Under the Knife, grappling with burdensome religious heritage yet instinctual agnosticism with
Drones, ready to give up with
Ready to Fall and
Behind Closed Doors, not sure what to do with
Worth Dying For, and, of course, ready to tackle life with
Survive.
Catchy while balancing innovative lyrics and explosive punk rock, the album would surpass a 4.5 rating for me. But the strong personal connection, something hiding just behind the bones of my ear, that little synergistic pull, makes me fall in love with a different song every time I listen the whole way through.
"Somewhere between happy and total ***ing wreck,
feet sometimes on solid ground, sometimes at the edge,
to spend your waking moments
simply killing time,
is to give up on your hopes and dreams, to give up on your--"
Yeah, "life for me has been less than kind," but this album helped me
survive.
