Against Me!'s third full-length "Searching for a Former Clarity" (released by Fat Wreck Chords) was a dissapointment. There are a lot of songs about the band's struggle with popularity, but these songs all lack energy. A few songs stand out, but not enough to make it a good album.
1. Miami - This song never stood out to me. The music is boring and the vocals sound cheesey (especially the chorus). It is hard to listen through this entire song.
2. Mediocrity Gets You Pears (The Shaker) - I cannot help but skip this song when I listen to this CD. The verse is so poppy it's annoying. The chorus lacks energy. I can't find anything to like about this song. I have "no connection at all" with Mediocrity Gets You Pears.
3. Justin - There's not much to say about Justin. A slow, stiff song with obviously corny politics. "They're advertising on the TV become a soldier...". That line doesn't make me wanna hear the rest of their statement.
4. Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners - Everyone can make the relation to that ***ty song "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand, but this is one of the better songs on the album. It's one of the several songs talking about their struggle with popularity.
5. From Her Lips to God's Ears (The Energizer) - I have to say I do enjoy this one. It's one of the faster songs, though still a bit too poppy. The lyrics are more original than the politics of Justin. It's a good sing-along as well.
6. Violence - Once again, a slow, boring as *** song that has no energy or emotion that goes on for a solid 5 minutes. This is a song I go to sleep to. That's all I have to say about Violence.
7. Pretty Girls (The Mover) - This song is a wake-up that Against Me!'s lyrics are going down the drain. "What are you gonna say when she picks up the phone? Should you leave a message when she's not at home? Wanted to know if you'd like to see a movie or get a drink. It'd be cool just to be in your company."??? What the *** happened? And not only do the lyrics suck, the music is obvious.
8. How Low - Ohhhh boy, the worst song on the album. When I first started to listen to it, I was like "it's kinda like the acoustic "You Look Like I Need a Drink"", but as I continued to listen, it got bad... real bad. There's some guest vocals on the chorus, and it's just ***ing corny. The drums sound so mechanical and fake. This is another song I will skip.
9. Joy - I cannot believe they ***ed up a song that's so good. The original (demo) was so much better. It is ruined by a childish twinkle star noise in the backround. So corny. The vocals also seem to be watered down.
10. Holy *** - A pretty good song. I do not have much beef with Holy ***. It tells about how the band is getting sick of doing the same stuff over and over again. I'd have to dat that the lyrics are well-written.
11. Even at Our Worst We're Still Better Than Others (The Roller) - Probably the best song on the album for me. It reminds of 35% for some reason. It has the right emotion that will Against Me! me. This is another song of how they can get sick of all the pressure they get from their fans. You can start to understand where they're coming from with songs like this.
12. Problems - They really slowed this one down from all the other versions I heard, but overall, I'm gonna say it's an imporvent. The vocals are more powerful as is music (though slower). This song has a great ending as well. Another good sing-along.
13. Don't Lose Touch - My god, this catchy, poppy, slow, repetative piece of ***. It gets so ***ing boring, I cannot take it. The drums are so bland and boring it hurts. This song gets old after playing it 2 or 3 times. (Music Video... absolutely disgusts me).
14. Searching for a Former Clarity - A great song. The lyrics are meaningful and deep. This is a solid Against Me! song. A good way to end an album.
In the end, this album is poor. You can tell the band is heading towards the more poppy, watered down side of music. It makes me sad to say that they are losing it. They need to get their exclamation point taken away.
