GABEL GOES SOLO WITH ‘HEART BURNS’
by M. R. Brown
Tom Gabel of Against Me! has released Heart Burns, his 8 song solo EP from Sire Records. The album carries Gabel’s folk-infused punk rock songwriting with catchy hooks and sing-along choruses.
As though reverting to an earlier sound, Gabel drops his five piece act for simple guitars and drums with more focused storytelling in mind. One standout track entitled “Anna is a Stool Pigeon” tells the tale of two lovers who meet at a protest rally only to realize one is an FBI informant. One of the truest to form folk standouts, the track harkens the songwriting of John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen with Gabel’s trademark voice.
“100 Years of War” and “Cowards Sing at Night” round out the political skewer of Gabel’s long-running angst with current government administrators. Denouncing involvement in war and calling for the lives back that have been lost, these are among the most biting tracks on the album.
Pounding drum machines and four chord songs, which could get mixed in with the sounds of hipster-trendy indie rock lately flesh out the album with “Conceptual Paths” and “Random Hearts.”
Living by his own words, “You don’t owe anything to anyone”, Gabel puts aside prior Against Me! fan criticisms of the band’s current sounds by charging forward with exactly the sound he wants to play. This is Gabel stripped to the bare-bones of what modern rock n’ roll is.
Gabel’s online Myspace music page provides listeners with acoustic version videos of each song on the EP. His next closest shows will in New York and Connecticut on November 20th and 21st.
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