Rise Against – The Black Market

Rise Against’s career trajectory has moved from Warped Tour sidestage punk act to mainstream arena rock group, increasing their fan base significantly while alienating listeners who cherish their earliest releases. They are similar to Against Me! in that respect, as well as their blend of passionately political and personal lyrics. While Laura Jane Grace recently unleashed what is arguably their most vital recording, Rise Against have occasionally suffered from watered down slogan chants and mediocre radio friendly rock songs. Their past few releases have simply been more of the same, appeasing fans thirst for new music, but never stretching their musical boundaries.

The Black Market isn’t exactly a complete reinvention of Rise Against, but they appear to have consciously stretched themselves both lyrically and musically. There is enough familiar music for the longtime fans, but there are also interesting musical turns and enough introspection to balance the sloganeering.

Lead single, I Don’t Want to Be Here is a great introduction to the overarching theme of the Black Market. Tim McIlrath overlays a familiar sounding track with world weary lyrics that discuss the overbearing weight of righteous indignation. Even the most passionate activists have moments of hopelessness, when the emotional trauma of feeling empathy becomes unbearable. The sorrow conveyed as he sings I know there’s nothing left worth staying for, your paradise is something I’ve endured amidst repetitions of the song title is heartbreaking.

This perfectly encapsulates The Black Market. This is a deeply personal album with overtly political tones. Despite their commercial success, the members of Rise Against are still as passionate as ever about the state of the world; human rights, war, Capitalism and the environment are all explored here, as are the emotional tolls caused by actually caring about these things.

The songs on the album average 4 minutes, which offers the band lots of time to explore lyrics in depth. The weight of the title track is countered with the upbeat Tragedy & Time, which is reminiscent of their classic Like the Angel. The lyrics are just vague enough to be relatable to a wider audience. They could easily apply to a simple American teenage love affair and the bittersweet memories that come with moving on. But, it could just as easily be applied to a displaced family in Gaza, standing among the rubble of their destroyed home and mourning murdered family, all the while maintaining an enduring strength of spirit against all odds. Obviously there is more emotional weight to the latter interpretation, but Rise Against are aware who will be spending their money to buy their music (i.e. middle class American teens), so the vagueness works in their favor.

The most surprising moment comes with The Eco-Terrorist in Me, a fast paced hardcore tinged punk throwback song that rails against the ridiculous habit of politicians actively looking for targets to serve their interests. As North Americans realize that terrorists are not actually a realistic threat to our daily lives, fear mongering politicians widen their nets and begin to throw the label terrorist at various groups, including environmentalists, to sell their ideology. The anger expressed through the track is refreshing, a new step for Rise Against that blends the passion of their earliest music with the maturity that has come with time. Tracks like Beautiful Indifference channel their punk side as well. The biggest departure is the southern rock swagger of Zero Visibility, with fuzzed out vocals and driving guitars.

The majority of the album is balanced with more melodic offerings that recent fans will be comfortable with. On Sudden Life, they channel the 80s, taking care to never approach cheesiness, but giving the song an interesting flavor. The concept is a little heavy handed, with an allegory to heading into the afterlife (with references to angels and heaven itself), but the message is positive at its core. McIlrath frames the song as a wakeup call for those who are weary, paralleling themes found throughout the album. He speaks to those who are broken, beat, and tired out. wanna live but don’t know how and tells them to fight back against the comfort of the light, to stay here and fight back against the darkness. It is a sentiment worthy of a positive hardcore song, with his proclamation that he will not go gentle into that good night. There is another literary reference on Methadone, a dark pop punk love song that mentions Romeo & Juliet. The somber acoustic People Live Here is a plea to the religious, to a Christian god and his hypocritical believers, to the warmongers and the Capitalists who put profit over the environment. The vitriol contained in the lines from the coffins full of kindergarteners, is this what you call free? From the hate that drips from all your crosses, are your hands so clean? is in stark contrast to the pretty string accompaniment.  The closing track, Bridges, examines the state of the American economy and the failure of the government to take care of its’ people. The image created with the simple line, we built the bridges we now sleep under reminds us that human rights failures are not only overseas.

The Black Market is an interesting Rise Against album. It has enough familiarity to appeal to longtime fans, but they reached a little further this time. The deeply personal lyrics, which show only the faintest glimmers of hope, anchor the release which weaves in political discussions in an approachable way. No one can argue that their political music is intellectual like Propagandhi, but it is a welcome introduction to important issues for those prefer their music a little more mainstream. The Black Market is easily identifiable as a Rise Against album, but they stretched the bounds of their formula just enough to create an album that is significantly stronger than their last few releases.