Hey there fellow tourists, hope everything is going well for you so far this fall season. I’m still unpacking from my trip to Portland, Oregon so the Souvenir of the Week will be a relatively quick one this time. However, don’t think I’m shirking on my souvenir duties because of that fact. True, this souvenir is probably the shortest of all of my previous ones but in my opinion it probably is one of, if not the best souvenir I have ever shared. If you haven’t guessed from the title or image above, this week’s souvenir is unofficially titled ep The Acoustic EP by the punk rock band Against Me!
Against Me! formed back in 1997 initially as a solo project by singer/guitarist Laura Jane Grace. Still active today after 17 years and several lineup changes, the band has released 6 studio albums, 1 live album, 14 singles, and 5 EPs. The third of those EPs came to be known as The Acoustic EP. Although the name never appears on the album or its liner notes, its called that on the band’s official website so it is good enough for me.
The Acoustic EP was released back in 2001 on vinyl and features only acoustic guitars and bass instrumentation, no electric instruments or drums, with Laura Jane Grace and Dustin Fridkin making up the band at the time of this recording. Originally only consisting of 4 tracks, a CD version that contained 2 additional tracks was released in 2003. Later electric versions of many of these tracks would be featured on their first full length album, Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose.
Not only do I consider this one of Against Me!’s best works but I also think this is one of the best folk punk EPs of all time. The stripped down sound throughout all of the tracks, the raw emotion in Grace’s vocals, and the lyrical honesty all make this a very solid EP. While this EP has all of the aspects of good folk punk that I’ve discussed in the previous Souvenirs this month, it also features another prominent aspect of folk punk and punk, strong political and social ideals.
Although these days the band may not support all of the ideals discussed in this EP, it is a great example of the political and social ideals of the folk punk/punk communities and many of these songs are amazing rallying songs for those who are just starting to share those beliefs or those who have been keeping the faith for some time. Even if you don’t personally share any or all of these ideals, there are still plenty of tracks to enjoy on this EP.
I’m not going to try to break down this EP anymore because there isn’t much more for me to say to explain to you how great it is that giving it a good listen or two won’t do a million times better than I ever could. I love all of the tracks on this EP dearly, but if I had to choose my top 3 they would have to be Armageddon, Reinventing Axl Rose, and Pints of Guiness Make You Strong. Thanks again for reading, happy listening, and I’ll see all of you folks next week.
Photo credit: http://okmusic.jp/images/original?i_collection_id=1313541