Bad Religion
True North
Tracklist:
01. True North
02. Past is Dead
03. Robin Hood in Reverse
04. Land of
Endless Greed
05. Fuck You
06. Dharma and the Bomb
07.
Hello Cruel World
08. Vanity
09. In Their Hearts is Right
10.
Crisis Time
11. Dept. of False Hope
12. Nothing To Dismay
13. Popular Consensus
14. My Head is Full of Ghosts
15.
The Island
16. Changing Tide
It sometimes seems difficult to
classify Bad Religion. Are they the reigning kings of punk? Are
they hold-overs from a time gone by? Are they pretty much the only
relevant group of 40+ year olds in punk? Are they out of touch, or
still leading the questioning/rebelling punk masses? Well
classifications aside, one thing is indisputable....Bad Religion is
better than 90% of punk bands. Now, that sounds like sweeping
statement with many unstated implications, and it is supposed to be.
When Suffer came out in 1988 Bad Religion it blew everyone
away. When they followed it up with No Control and Against
the Grain, they solidified themselves as anything but a one-trick
pony. Even when they were getting slagged for moving to a major
label they put out albums like Stranger than Fiction and The
Gray Race, which as you guessed it, are better than 90% of the
punk that was being put out at the time.
Having a long career is one thing, but
hitting your 20th anniversary with an album like The
Process of Belief is fucking unheard of. Not only was did that
album quiet all naysayers, it marked the beginning of one of the, if
not THE most impressive periods of Bad Religion's career. Now on the
Lost Tribe podcast J. does a great job explaining the glory of the
later years of Bad Religion, so listen to that, but it's worth noting
that True North stands toe to toe with pretty much any of its
predecessors in this latest Bad Religion period (ya, I know I'm
talking about them like a modern art movement or something, but they
deserve this type of reverence and respect).
True North continues Bad
Religion's long-standing tradition of calling it like it is. There
are songs decrying the catastrophic economic situation in America
(“Robin Hood in Reverse”, “Land of Endless Greed”), and hold
a cynical views of the world (“Hello Cruel World”, “Dept. Of
False Hope”), but whatever the topic, the music and lyrics are
driving and relentless. This is a band full of dads, business
owners, and professors, and they still write balls to the fucking
wall punk! And are GOOD at it!
Why do I seem so surprised? Because we
live in a world where every band from the 80s, 90s, and even early
2000s are crawling out of their fucking graves for another
$40-a-ticket grab at the brass ring, and it's downright depressing
most of the time (Black Flag, I'm looking at you). Furthermore,
these sad attempts at past glory are shown to be all the more hollow
when a band like Bad Religion, who never had the sense to throw the
towel in in the first place, delivers relevant, important music after
over 30 years of being a band.
Goddammit, I love Bad Religion. I love
screaming their lyrics at their concerts. I loved a childhood full
of running to dictionaries as I read those lyrics. And I love a band
that has had its ups and downs, but has always remained important,
intelligent, and just plain fucking good.
