Good Riddance – Thoughts and Prayers

Good Riddance is yet another classic Fat Wreck Chords band that just never quit.  Yes, they slowed down and took a break with front man Russ Rankin exploring Only Crime and some solo work, but the band has since gotten back on track.  Their last album, Peace in Our Time, was a resounding return from dormancy, and their latest, Thoughts and Prayers, looks to further update and refine Good Riddance for the present.

 The usual comparisons to No Use For A Name, Bad Religion, and Pennywise abound as Good Riddance slips in easily with the their legacy and peers.  It should be noted that Thoughts and Prayers is one of the band’s most melodic outings, as I didn’t find myself making more than a couple comparisons to The Descendents’ unconventional chords (“Our Great Divide” being one that sticks out).  The album’s opening clip is lifted from Gordon Gecko’s quote from the 1987 movie Wall Street, and instantly communicates the politico-activist mentality running through the band’s collective veins.  The band frames America as a diseased nation, torn from privilege, distrust and declining morality. Tracks like “No King But Caesar” take aim at those acting above the law. “When violence breeds indifference we are lost” belts Rankin as he describes a populace that has been trained to “stare and obey” in a world that “denies the endless suffering” and realities of inequality.  The steadfast chorus of vocal harmonies build urgency and outrage with each passing verse. 

 Each song’s lyrics are highly articulate while maintaining the emotion and anger that defines Good Riddance’s brand of political punk.  They straddle the line between Bad Religion’s poise and precision and Pennywise’s hard hitting hammer of justice.  The tracks range from mid-tempo (“No Safe Place”) to blistering speed (“Precariat”) without ever losing the passionate draw stemming from their tried and true melodies.  Those that take the time to really hear the lyrics on repeat listens rather than just letting them whiz by will undoubtedly get the most mileage from the band’s intelligent discourse.

 Five years have passed since Good Riddance’s last effort, yet Thoughts and Prayers feels as tight, if not tighter than anything in their back catalogue.  With Thoughts and Prayers Good Riddance has captured the contemporary political outrage that goes hand in hand with the increasing visibility of politics of hate.  Thought and Prayers exemplifies political punk as the genre intended: fast, loud and unapologetic.