Punk rock band RISE AGAINST is back with a provocative and dynamic new album, Nowhere Generation, the group’s first new studio effort in four years. On the upcoming release, the outspoken band points a finger at big business and politics for stacking the social and economic deck against Millennials’, Gen Y’s, and Gen Z’s pursuit of The American Dream. Musically, the album is blazing, aggressive punk rock; lyrically, the eleven songs were inspired in part by input from band members’ young children and Rise Against’s community of fans.

Said McIlrath,“Today there is the promise of the American Dream, and then there is the reality of the American Dream.  America’s ‘historical norm’ that the next generation will be better off than the one that came before has been diminished by an era of mass social, economic, and political instability and a sell-out of the Middle Class.  The brass ring that was promised by hard work and dedication no longer exists for everyone. When the privileged climb the ladder of success and then burn it from the top, disruption becomes the only answer.”

In addition to the communal call to arms embedded in Nowhere Generation’s dynamic title track, there’s the fast and furious anti-establishment manifesto Broken Dreams, Inc., the moody ballad Forfeit, Sudden Urge, a true nod to the band’s rock’n’roll side with an overall punk-vibe, the simplicity of The Numbers with a melody that will stick in your head, and the surprise pop candor in Talking To Ourselves, a standout song about wanting to be heard and wondering if anyone is listening. “It describes a lot of what Rise Against does,” says McIlrath, “to speak and scream when we feel there are things that are happening that aren’t being addressed.” 

“When I was growing up,” said Principe, “I listened to bands like 7 Seconds, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and Bad Religion. All of those bands’ music had a sense of hope with the world, a truly positive global view of what life can be. From the beginning, we’ve wanted Rise Against to have that same positivity, to have our music be an inspiration for people to bring about change in their own lives, they just have to put forth the effort and speak up.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.