The New America

The New America is the eleventh studio album by punk band Bad Religion. It was released in 2000 and is their last album (to date) on Atlantic Records.

The New America
Studio album by
Bad Religion
ReleasedMay 9, 2000
RecordedOctober–December 1999
StudioVictor's Barn, Kauai, Hawaii
GenrePunk rock
Length40:11
LabelAtlantic
ProducerTodd Rundgren
Bad Religion chronology
No Substance
(1998)		 The New America
(2000)		 The Process of Belief
(2002)
International edition cover

The New America is also Bad Religion's last album with Bobby Schayer on drums. Though not yet credited as a member of the band, then-former and now-current guitarist Brett Gurewitz co-wrote and played guitar on the song "Believe It". The album was re-released by Epitaph Records on September 15, 2008. Like its predecessor, none of the album's song would develop into live staples; only the title track is performed live occasionally.

Musical style and lyrics

The album marks a departure for the band, as some of the songs are personal, rather than political in nature, and more optimism is employed. Topics range from singer Greg Graffin's recent divorce to his past growing up as a punk kid in the early '80s. Apart from Brett Gurewtiz's guest contribution, it is the only Bad Religion album solely written by Graffin.

Production and marketing

The New America was recorded from October to December 1999 at Victor's Barn, Kauai, Hawaii and produced by Todd Rundgren. Rundgren had been one of the musicians Greg Graffin looked up to while growing up. However, working with Rundgren proved to be a disappointment to the band and especially Graffin, because they did not get along well with each other.[1] Graffin however would later write in his book, Anarchy Evolution, that although Todd Rundgren was difficult to work with, they remain friends to this day.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert Christgau[3]
Ox-FanzineUnfavorable[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

The New America was released on May 9, 2000 and is the last Bad Religion album distributed via Atlantic Records to date. It peaked at number 88 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[6]

The release of The New America marked the band's fulfillment of their four-album contract with Atlantic Records, allowing the band to reconvene with former band-mate, Brett Gurewitz, for their next album, 2002's The Process of Belief, released on Epitaph Records.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You've Got a Chance"Graffin3:41
2."It's a Long Way to the Promise Land"Graffin2:29
3."A World Without Melody"Graffin2:32
4."New America"Graffin3:25
5."1000 Memories"Graffin3:00
6."A Streetkid Named Desire"Graffin3:17
7."Whisper in Time"Graffin2:32
8."Believe It"Graffin, Gurewitz3:41
9."I Love My Computer"Graffin3:06
10."The Hopeless Housewife"Graffin2:59
11."There Will Be a Way"Graffin2:53
12."Let It Burn"Graffin2:44
13."Don't Sell Me Short"Graffin3:58
Japan and Europe bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."The Fast Life"2:01
15."Queen of the 21st Century"4:17
B-Sides
No.TitleLength
16."Lose as Directed"2:30
17."Pretenders"4:12

Personnel

References
  1. Live at the Palladium DVD
  2. The New America at AllMusic
  3. "CG: bad religion". Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  4. Hiller, Joachim (June–August 2000). "Reviews: Bad Religion / The New America CD". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  5. "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. February 28, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  6. "The New America's entry at Billboard.com". Billboard.com. February 2016. Archived from the original on March 17, 2006. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.