Total Treble (2014)
Picture discs have always been an odd bird for me. While I can appreciate that they can look pretty cool sometimes, there seem to be a lot of instances where I just don't see the point. Particularly since they often don't sound all that great when compared to a normal record. This Against Me 7" is one of those records. You can have a picture disc like Rocket From The Crypt's Boychucker 7" that's just bursting with artwork and color. But this very minimal, very black and white illustration just isn't screaming out to me that it needs the picture disc treatment. Plus with all of that blank space, couldn't they put the band name on there somewhere instead of slapping that gigantic sticker on the sleeve?
Anyway, musically it's pretty good. "Unconditional Love" is a song that I really like, though it is already on the last Against Me full length, so this 7" only exists to me as a vessel for the B-side. "500 Years" is also pretty good. Just drums and acoustic guitar. Slower than you'd think without much of the angst that the band can be known for, but still a good song. It makes sense to me that it's a B-side, though I'm not sure it's strong enough to really anchor this record.
At the end of the day, you still have to respect what Against Me is doing. This 7" was $5 in the store I was at. Almost every other 7" I looked through was between $7 - $10 dollars. If nothing else, at least Against Me and Total Treble are keeping their prices punk rock. I'm always happy to support that and this record is absolutely worth every penny of the $5.
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