Bad Religion Bring ‘The Age of Unreason’ to Milwaukee – Shepherd Express

Thomas Paine, the 18th-century author ofThe Age of Reason, once claimed that arguing with someone whod renounced the use of reason is as effective as administering medicine to the dead or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.

Bad Religion, as their name suggests, have no interest in converting atheists. But on their current album, Age of Unreason, the L.A. pop-punk stalwarts do share a similar exasperation with what Paine famously called the times that try mens souls.

The album is the bands first collection of new music in six years. Not surprisingly, it includes more than a few less-than-veiled references to a certain previous commander in chief. I dont believe in Golden Ages, or presidents that put kids in cages, sings frontman Greg Graffin in End of History, one of the albums few songs to approach the three-minute mark.

But Bad Religions primary target isnt former President Donald Trump so much as that special combination of bigotry, nationalism and apathy that helped to enable him, which is part of the reason the sarcastic shout-along 2018 single, The Kids Are Alt-Right, didnt make it onto the album. That may come as a surprise to those who recall guitarist Brett Gurewitzs widely circulated quote about the band having an albums worth of F*** Trump songs up its sleeve.

Metaphor of Hatred

I hope its not that singular, said Bad Religion bassist, vocalist and co-founder Jay Bentley. In my mind, using Trump as a metaphor works for many things, but historically we havent been too focused on any single individual. Because in 10-years-time, who the f*** is gonna give a s*** about Donald Trump?

Musically, the album finds the band working for the first time with Carlos de la Garza, the Grammy-winning producer whose recent credits include Paramore, Ziggy Marley and Cherry Glazerr. But the British punk and L.A. hardcore influences, which have worked so well for bands like Bad Religion and their less-cerebral Northern California counterparts, Green Day, are still very much in evidence. And Bentley, who holds the distinction of playing on all but two of the bands 17 studio albums, is uncharacteristically enamored with the results.

Ive listened to it many times and thats rare for me, because I dontlikeus, he said, only half joking. And thats because Iminthe band, so Im too close. Its really hard for me not to listen with that critical ear, instead of just enjoying it. So when I can just sort of tap my foot along and go, Damn, this is good, thats shocking to me. And this album is front-loaded with great songs, and then by the end, its justscreaming.

WhileAge of Unreasonis best listened to loud, standout tracks like Old Regime and What Tomorrow Brings also showcase the three-part harmonies that Bad Religion originally modeled after their favorite Orange County punk band.

If Im to be brutally honest, we got all our ideas from watching The Adolescents, who were all phenomenal vocalists, said Bentley. We were also fans of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Elvis Costello, and other music where background harmonies were important, which wasnt so much the case in punk rock. So when we saw The Adolescents, we thought, If they can do it, we can do it. It just took us a long time to figure it out.

Bad Religion perform Nov. 14 at the Eagles Ballroom.

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Bad Religion Bring 'The Age of Unreason' to Milwaukee - Shepherd Express