Late last year Tom Gabel (founder and front man for Against Me!) released his seven song solo debut, Heart Burns. For those of us old enough to remember when Against Me! was basically Tom, an acoustic guitar, and some protest songs, this was an intriguing possibility. I can (and will) tell you that while this is not necessarily a return to the folk-punk roots of Against Me! it might be as close as we are going to get. Sure there are moments where the material and presentation really shine, (“Anna Is A stool Pigeon” featuring backing vocals from Chuck Ragan and “Harsh Realms” most noticeably with “Anna” being constantly stuck in my head) but there are just too many clunkers for me to give this a big thumbs up. I’ve got to think that somewhere during the recording sessions someone must have thought about some of the ridiculous sounding electronic drums that mar parts of this record, especially considering how incredibly well-produced Against Me!’s New Wave was. I guess I was (perhaps) expecting more when Gabel signed on for part of Chuck Ragan’s revival tour last fall and that the sound might be closer to folk-punk than what is found on Heart Burns, but (for what it’s worth) this is only half bad.
MP3 | Tom Gabel – Anna Is A Stool Pigeon Heart Burns
I agree. Anna is by far the best song. It isn’t fair of anyone to expect a return to the old Against Me! style music, because he has obviously grown, matured, and changed. Still, Anna is a glimmer of hope that AM will put out some more awesome tunes in the future.
(side note: needs more History of Chicago Punk Rock excerpts).