Courtesy of Warner Bros. Music

Against Me!, a young punk band from Gainesville, Fla., quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the local scene. Headed by the incendiary lyrics of Tom Gabel and plenty of throat-shredding anthems to make a soundtrack for rebellion, Against Me! meshed folk, punk and country in a way that was still commercially relevant. But as time wore on, the band strayed further and further from its roots. It recently finished its EP “I Was A Teenage Anarchist,” which was recorded by Butch Vig, the same producer of Green Day’s “21st Century Breakdown,” and is sadly of the same caliber.

Gone are the impassioned lyrics of a man looking to change the world. Instead, the listener is subjected to four songs of empty rhetoric and grossly overproduced garbage. Each song feels contrived and forced, with Gabel singing catchy, meaningless pop hooks. Instead of clever jabs at the government and visions of change and hope, Gabel feels content to whine about a punk scene that no longer accepts him.

“I Was A Teenage Anarchist” is a shell of Against Me! and is the very thing the band fought so hard against. The members used to write songs that meant something and inspired thought. In these bitterly divisive and politically heated times, Against Me! needed to offer hope instead of half-hearted pop punk designed to sell. Maybe its upcoming record “White Crosses” will deliver the passion it once had, but given this EP, the outlook is quite bleak.

Band: Against Me!
Album: I Was a Teenage Anarchist
Label: Sire
Grade: D+