Tom Gabel - Heart Burns
Against Me! started out as a solo project for the then-teenage frontman Tom Gabel, and here his first...
Posted Wednesday, 12 November 2008 in ,
Rating: 9
Against Me! started out as a solo project for the then-teenage frontman
Tom Gabel, and here his first 'official' solo record allows the busy songwriter to show off seven fine tracks away from his increasingly successful day-job. Recorded in a two-week break between tours,
Heart Burns is a brief but quite brilliant venture, ranging from the synthetic pop charm of opener
Random Hearts to the stripped back
Conceptual Paths,
Cowards Sing At Night and
Harsh Realms, and the rabble-rousing chants and muted electric guitars of
Amputations. The true moment of genius, though, comes in the fantastic
Anna Is A Stool Pigeon, which addresses the role of FBI informant
Anna in the arrest of a group of eco activists, and specifically the 20-year prison sentence handed to
Eric McDavid. It's probably the best example of song-based storytelling
Rock Sound can recall, and highlights an intriguing case, as well as
Gabel's ire on the matter. The singer has stated he chose to release
Heart Burns now to coincide with the US presidential election, and as such the militaristic march of closer
100 Years Of War brings proceedings to a fittingly somber end, directly addressing many of the modern world's ills. Thought-provoking, personally affecting and brilliantly written,
Rock Sound's glad he skipped that fortnight's vacation.
Tim Newbound
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