As we ponder what life will be like under an Obama presidency, some people have expressed fears that political satirists like Jon Stewart and Bill Maher will be hard-pressed for material. Now may also be the time to start worrying about the future of Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel. Just as he took the first steps of his mainstream solo career, releasing his new “Heart Burns” EP, the change in political scenery may pull the rug from under pop music’s new king of dissent.
Not that dissent is a new stance for Gabel ““ what’s new is his ascension to pop stardom. For years he has fought against just about anything with the blunt lyrics and left-wing politics of Against Me!’s folk-tinged punk rock. But at the end of 2005, the group signed with major label Sire Records and last year released “New Wave,” their critically acclaimed bid for pop relevancy. The commercialized sound sent die-hard punk fans crying “sell-out” claiming that the band had ditched its authentic, lo-fi approach to become part of the corporate machine. Yet to anyone willing to accept a bit of mainstream production value, “New Wave” represented an exciting step into the spotlight, introducing the general public to one of this generation’s most intriguing storytellers.
The most exciting thing about “New Wave” was that Gabel’s message could still be heard loud and clear, as he lamented “all the taste-makers drinking from the same glass” and pleaded for other artists to “say what you’re really thinking.” Transmitted through huge power chords and soaring choruses, the album made it possible to wag your finger and bang your head at the same time.
It turns out Gabel had a few other things to shout about. His solo debut, the seven-track “Heart Burns,” is filled with themes that stretch beyond the aggressive call to arms of “New Wave.” Gabel starts out by asking listeners to “give me all the hate you feel / binge and purge,” but this time he’s looking for more than just better pop music.
The album’s centerpiece, “Anna is a Stool Pigeon,” recounts the framing of environmental activist Eric McDavid by an FBI informant for whom the song is named. “Anna thinks she’s a hawk / but she’s just a f***ing snitch,” Gabel sings, sounding a little too whiny to make his message as effective as it could have been. But that’s the price Gabel is willing to pay: If you speak your mind with this much earnestness, you risk sounding like an enraged idealogue every now and then.
The most noticeable departure of Gabel’s solo work, though, is the promotion of folk music from influence to stylistic mandate. “Anna is a Stool Pigeon” is folk all the way (it’s got a harmonica and everything!), prioritizing storytelling on the only track that exceeds four minutes. “Amputations” is the only song to boast even moderately hefty guitars ““ for the most part, he sticks with acoustic strumming. Still, it’s catchy enough to remind us that no matter which creative impulses he follows, Tom Gabel will always sound good.
Gabel had planned for the album to be released just before the presidential election, and his political worries ring loud and clear. “Cowards Sing at Night” and “100 Years of War” both quote Sen. John McCain, and the references are not flattering. When Gabel sings, “Conceptual paths wide open, I’m scared to death,” he seems to be reminding voters that the election could send us in any number of directions. Now that it’s over, the album’s collection of ominous warnings sound like a musical snapshot of the Bush era, like a painful reminder of the concerns we’d like to leave behind forever. As we move into the age of Obama, I fear Gabel’s grievances may begin to sound like so much rain on our national hope parade. Of course, we needn’t worry ““ he can always go back to wailing on pop music.
-Alex Goodman
E-mail Goodman at [email protected].