Bad Religion- True North LP

Out of all those alluring names, there was one band whose name stood out from the others, and of course it was BAD RELIGION. Perfectly appealing to my teenage atheist sensibilities, I dug into the depths of the internet to find out more. A cursory search revealed them to be 'melodic' and 'intelligent' and 'wordy' among other things that I probably thought sounded cool, but didn’t understand. With a list of buzzwords to aid in my novice appreciation, I pursued Bad Religion, soon realizing they lived up to every journalistic cliche used to describe them. Rocked by their speed, their catchy but idiosyncratic sense of melody, and uncharacteristically bombastic guitar solos– I found my first favorite band.

Years later, I feel honored to be able to write about this punk rock monolith. If I've learned anything, it's that you never really grow out of Bad Religion.

True North is their sixteenth album (featuring sixteen tracks), which is incredible. No matter the actual quality of the album itself, that is an impressive feat. Luckily though, True North has a lot more to offer than a number. The hype around it has colored it as a return to form, a faster and more vital collection of songs meant to hearken back to the era of Suffer and No Control. Miraculously, it does exactly what it promises, and while it's not a perfect record, it comes damn close.

On True North, Bad Religion have culled the best of themselves from a history spanning over three decades. Unlike other scene veterans, content to be just another legacy act, Bad Religion continue to be relevant and exciting. True North is no exception.