Searching for a Former Clarity

Searching for a Former Clarity is the third album by the Gainesville, Florida punk rock band Against Me!, produced by J. Robbins and released on September 6, 2005 by Fat Wreck Chords. Supported by singles and music videos for the songs "Don't Lose Touch" and "From Her Lips to God's Ears (The Energizer)", it was their first album to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching #114. It also reached #9 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart. Singer/guitarist Laura Jane Grace has described Searching for a Former Clarity as a concept album.[1]

Label reaction
Fat Mike, on the other hand, thought the album was shit. He told me that he hated J.'s production style, didn't like the mix or the track listing, and that the cover art (a black and white photo of a Florida palm tree) was terrible. "Make the band name bigger!" This took the wind out of our sails a bit and started making me consider our next move. The reason we had stayed indie, signed no contract, and taken less money was for artistic freedom. But now we found ourselves with no contract, in a punk rock handshake deal, but still compromising and fighting with our label over things like artwork and songs.

Laura Jane Grace with Dan Ozzi, Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout

Searching for a Former Clarity
Studio album by
Against Me!
ReleasedSeptember 6, 2005
RecordedApril 18 – May 16, 2005
StudioThe Magpie Cage in Baltimore
GenrePunk rock, folk punk
Length47:00
LabelFat Wreck Chords
ProducerJ. Robbins
Against Me! chronology
We're Never Going Home
(2004)		 Searching for a Former Clarity
(2005)		 Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!!
(2006)
Singles from Searching for a Former Clarity
  1. "Don't Lose Touch"
    Released: September 6, 2005
  2. "From Her Lips to God's Ears (The Energizer)"
    Released: April 4, 2006

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Punknews.org[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

Reaction to Searching for a Former Clarity was generally positive, with critics praising Grace's lyrics and the band's effective combination of different musical elements. Corey Apar of Allmusic gave the album four and a half stars out of five, calling it the band's "most introspective album to date. In both subject matter and song composition, they expand upon elements of previous releases without being afraid to veer away from expectations".[2] Though describing the tone of the album as "more sober and resentful" in comparison to their previous efforts, he remarked that "the passion, energy, and urgency Against Me! is known for is no less present. Instead, Searching for a Former Clarity is a more developed effort that is not only one of the best punk releases of 2005, but further establishes the band's growing importance within the punk scene."[2]

Aubin Paul of Punknews.org also praised the album, giving it four out of five stars and stating that "Unlike the simple shout-along melodies that adorned previous albums, ...Clarity demands repeated listens far more than any previous album."[3] He praised the band's ability to effectively combine punk rock, country, and folk music, noting that "with Clarity it seems the band has finally managed to fuse these elements seamlessly in a single track." He noted that the lyrics were more personal and "painfully confessional" than on the band's previous efforts, and that the political motifs were more individualistic, focusing on "the effects of politics on real people."[3] He summarized the album as "ambitious, fully realized and truly special. It's also a conflicted record; it's filled with internal ruminations, raw emotions and a distancing wall of sound, but it is nevertheless their most thoughtful and accomplished piece of songwriting and a record that grows more rewarding with each listen."[3]

One criticism which Apar and Paul shared was that both found the chorus of "Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners" to be "somewhat annoying", though Paul noted that the song had "a great opening and confessional lyrics".[2][3] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone was more critical of the album, giving it three out of five stars and describing it as "a bizarro combination of Who's Next, an angry oi-punk record and some dude's blog."[4] He complimented Grace's lyrics as "both wordier and funnier than most rant-based punk" but also said that "over fourteen cuts, [her] Roger Daltrey bellow can grow wearisome".[4] He did, however, praise "Holy Shit!" as "a detailed critique of a stagnating rock scene" and said that "How Low", a slower song in which Grace describes attempts to give up drugs, "prov[es] that you can't get this deep into other people's shit without getting a little on yourself."[4]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Laura Jane Grace; all music is composed by Grace, James Bowman, Andrew Seward, and Warren Oakes.

No.TitleLength
1."Miami"4:00
2."Mediocrity Gets You Pears (The Shaker)"2:38
3."Justin"3:57
4."Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners"4:08
5."From Her Lips to God's Ears (The Energizer)"2:35
6."Violence"5:34
7."Pretty Girls (The Mover)"2:45
8."How Low"4:27
9."Joy"2:12
10."Holy Shit!"2:53
11."Even at Our Worst We're Still Better Than Most (The Roller)"2:53
12."Problems"2:40
13."Don't Lose Touch"2:55
14."Searching for a Former Clarity"3:25
Total length:47:00

Total Clarity
Total Clarity
Demo album by
Against Me!
ReleasedMay 24, 2011
Recorded2004–2005, Goldentone Studios, Gainesville, Florida[5]
GenrePunk rock
LabelFat Wreck Chords
ProducerJ. Robbins
Against Me! chronology
White Crosses
(2010)		 Total Clarity
(2011)		 Black Crosses
(2011)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Consequence of SoundB[7]
Punknews.org[8]

Against Me! released Total Clarity, a collection of demos and unreleased songs from the Searching for a Former Clarity recording sessions, through Fat Wreck Chords on May 24, 2011.[9] Fat Wreck Chords previously released The Original Cowboy, an album of demos from the band's 2003 album Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy, in 2009.[10]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Laura Jane Grace except where noted; all music is composed by Grace, James Bowman, Andrew Seward, and Warren Oakes, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Miami"3:37
2."The Shaker"3:05
3."Justin"3:15
4."Exhaustion and Disgust"2:49
5."Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners"4:01
6."The Energizer"2:14
7."Violence"4:48
8."The Mover"2:35
9."How Low"3:16
10."Joy"1:39
11."Holy Shit"2:11
12."Lost and Searching in America"2:38
13."Problems"2:28
14."Money Changes Everything" (written by Tom Gray; originally performed by The Brains)3:48
15."Total Clarity"3:25
Total length:45:44[11]

Charts
Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[12] 114

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[13]

Band

Additional musicians
  • Chris Pumphrey – alto saxophone on "Miami"
  • Rose Hammer – baritone saxophone on "Miami"
  • Geof Manthonre – trumpet on "Miami"
  • J. Robbins – tambourine on "Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners" and "Don't Lose Touch"
  • Dave Chamberland, Jon Herroon, Mathieu Guilbault, and Olivier Maguire – backing vocals on "Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners"
  • Genevieve Tremblay – backing vocals on "Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners" and "How Low"

Production

Chart performance
Chart Peak
position
Billboard 200[14][15] 114
Top Independent Albums[16] 9
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References
  1. Dworken, Arye (2010-07-20). "The Self-Titled Interview: Against Me!". Self-Titled Daily. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  2. Apar, Corey. "Review: Searching for a Former Clarity". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  3. Paul, Aubin (2005-09-06). "Review: Against Me! - Searching for a Former Clarity". Punknews.org. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  4. Hoard, Christian (2005-10-20). "Review: Against Me! - Searching for a Former Clarity". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
  5. Lord, Joseph (2012-03-01). "Music | The Courier-Journal". courier-journal.com. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  6. allmusic
  7. cos
  8. punknews
  9. Gabel, Tom (2011-02-12). "Total Clarity". Blogspot. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  10. "Against Me! to release The Original Cowboy on Fat this summer". Punknews.org. 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
  11. Total Clarity (CD booklet). Against Me!. San Francisco, California: Fat Wreck Chords. 2011. FAT 744-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. "Against Me Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 03 August 2015.
  13. Searching for a Former Clarity (CD). Against Me!. San Francisco: Fat Wreck Chords. 2005. 684-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. "Against Me! Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  15. Harris, Chris (2005-09-14). "50 Cent's Beefed-Up Massacre Can't Top Kanye's Latest". MTV. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  16. "Against Me! Album & Song Chart History: Top Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
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