Rise Against
Revolutions Per Minute CD – Fat Wreck

Much unlike many of the forefathers that made punk what it is today, current spiky-haired, sneer-pitching, warp-speed debasers of society seem to have ventured to the other end of the spectrum over the past decade, penning songs concerning the politics of breakfast cereal and other inconsequential subjects. But with another stinky Bush in office and another questionable war dragging on to no foreseeable end, the punk-niks are going back to the basics, rallying Against government and other forms of authority with vigor. Rise Against, on sophomore effort Revolutions Per Minute, give punk a welcome makeover without sacrificing salience, mixing semi-speedy meter with moving breakdowns and multi-faceted vocals from Chad Price, who sounds like Dennis Lyxzen one moment, Greg Graffin the next. Disregarding which paramount punk/hardcore artist Price oogles, his lyrical lamentations are snub-filled and packed with sincerity. On “Blood Red, White, and Blue,” Price protests our country’s choice of which nations to engage in combat, shouting, “What did you have to say?/ Give me your logic, your definition, the words you twist to justify your position of mass starvation and blind air strikes/ Every problem is solved with a fight.” Other tracks cover similar ground, and some of the riffs and build-ups are truly worth a hearty perusing. Employing political epithets and raging-hot dynamics, Rise Against score points for punk with the superb Revolutions Per Minute. (Grant Purdum)
www.riseagainst.com