Though not as groundbreaking as the hype would suggest, 's is an inflammatory and always on-the-verge political album. Like and , melds melodicism and hooks to unrelenting intensity. It makes for a record that is as fun as it is serious -- equal parts pogo and agitprop anti-authoritarianism. Songs like sound like an East Coast version of circa -- certainly high praise in terms of catchiness. And even if sometimes the band is a bit heavy-handed ("The voices of the people will come down like rain!"), plays music that is the of : shout-along choruses ( ), spiraling riffs, vocal chord-thrashing screams. The only real drawback is that while bands like , and are pushing music into markedly different (from each other) and strikingly fresh terrain, seems to be firmly planted in the moment during 1994 when the scene finally really embraced melody -- not a bad place to be, but the members of have more in them than that. ~ Charles Spano