Bad Religion Points True North In An Exhilarating Direction

On many cuts from punk stalwart Bad Religion's "True North" the ride resembles what a rodeo competitor feels once the gate opens. Non-stop built for speed pandemonium. To Bad Religion's credit it doesn't get so caught up in acceleration that it fails to come through with well-reasoned points. Sometimes, as with "Fuck", the takeaway is simply how liberating it can be to drop an f bomb. After all the intention of the user, not the word itself, determines how "bad" the bad word  is. "Dept. of False Hope" makes disillusionment seem like an approachable obstacle instead of an insatiable lust for self-medication. "Past Is Dead" doesn't suffer navel-gazing Goth depression gladly. Its drums ruggedly gallop through dusty entanglements Greg Graffin grabs his audience's focus with an unrelenting grip. He's one intellectually sound front man. "Hello Cruel World" stops to smell the angst-laced coffee. It plays up the ongoing drama of how individuals can be together in the world yet disconcertingly alone. Short bursts don't mean cutting room floor rejects. "Vanity" wags the finger at our tragedy mocking world, explodes from high notes to low notes, then bows out gracefully, all in just 62 seconds. "Robin Hood In Reverse" nails corporate greed to the wall and leaves it helpless like a bug on of those stretch limos. The recurring theme of "True North", at least from a sonic vantage point, is of a bucking bronco tossing you, the rider, around in the stirrups, waiting to see if you fall off. You'd be wise to resist any temptation to crack under this pressure because Bad Religion's four decades long hold on the punk rock stratosphere shows no sign of letting up. Brett Gurewitz, Greg Hetson, and Brian Baker rip into their guitars with demonic fervor. Brooks Wackerman bashes the drums at such a feverish pace you'd think the band's girlfriends were triple parked in the lot outside the recording studio. This outfit knows punk, at its roots, is about no holes barred attitude. However, what sets them above the fray is the messengers know how to deliver the messages without that menacing sneer blocking the clearest path.