Bad Religion – Age of Unreason

Bad Religion is one of the crown jewels of the punk community.  The band’s been around for over 30 years and has never paused its prolific output, changed its course, or waivered from its values.  Frontman Greg Graffin’s status as a PhD touting scholar also brings a certain credibility to what is often regarded as a genre rooted in rebellion and left wing politics.  While there’s truth to both of those generalizations, Bad Religion’s level of intellect spurs cognitive engagement and philosophical dialogue.  This is what has kept me coming back for the nearly twenty years I’ve followed them, and based on the band’s seventeenth studio album, Age of Unreason, will likely keep me attached well into middle age and beyond.

Age of Unreason is a carefully penned album that both feels contemporary and classic.  There are no experimental moments to be found across the album’s fourteen track run.  In recent times the band seems to have abandoned the fruitless attempt to reinvent themselves and simply embrace the brightest parts of their legacy.  In other words, you won’t find any of the altrock stylings of New America, but rather the steady speed of Recipe for Hate and infectious melodies of The Process of Belief.  Age of Unreason sounds like a true Bad Religion album through and through.  

The melodies and harmonies are as tight and grand as ever.  The chorus fueled lead single “My Sanity” absolutely nails the classic Bad Religion backing vocals, with the perfect balance of melodic “woah-oah” accompaniment cushioning Graffin’s cracked descriptions of reality and erosion of mental health.  Others like “The Approach” and “End of History” further the sweeping sing-along choruses and contemporary political reflection in a way that only Bad Religion can.  “Candidate” is an indirect description of Trump’s dystopian politics and critical look at an easily manipulated electorate.  “Aristocrats claim an exemption from the standards of democracy,” Graffin condemns several tracks later on “Old Regime,” marking disgust of the double standards enjoyed by society’s elite. The end of logical politics never sounded so melodic.  A few weaker pop-rock tracks like “Lose Your Head” and “Big Black Dog” do seep into the mix, but they’re short lived and easily forgiven considering the meat

Bad Religion is one of a kind.  It isn’t surprising that the godfathers of punk rock have had such a unmistakable mark on the scene they helped create.  With so many imitators over the years (The Generators being one of the most explicit that comes to mind) fans have come to covet each new offering by the real deal.  Age of Unreason is prototypical Bad Religion, and that’s a good thing.  Six years between albums is the longest fans have ever had to wait for new material in the band’s career, but there is no substitute for Bad Religion, and Age of Unreason keeps that expectation strong.