''White Crosses'' is

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

's fifth studio album, and their second to be released on

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

. As with its predecessor, 2007's '' New Wave'', the album was produced by

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album ''Neve ...

. It is also the only Against Me! album to feature George Rebelo, drummer of

Hot Water Music Hot Water Music is an American punk rock band formed in October 1994 and based in Gainesville, Florida. Since their formation, the group has consisted of Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard on shared lead vocals and guitars, bass guitarist Jason Bl ...

, following the departure of previous drummer

Warren Oakes William Warren Oakes (born January 23, 1981) is an American drummer best known for his eight years spent as the drummer for the punk rock band Against Me!. On June 8, 2009, Oakes announced that he was leaving the band to pursue a career as a r ...

. Recording began in August 2009, finishing two months later. The mixing and mastering of the album finished in February 2010, and it was released June 8. The initial pressing of the record included four bonus tracks. This is also the last album prior to Laura Jane Grace’s transition. On March 17, 2010, their first video from the album, "Rapid Decompression," was released online via AOL Spinner. A four-track digital EP for " I Was a Teenage Anarchist" was released as the first single from the album, on April 7, 2010. The two outtakes from the ''White Crosses'' sessions are "David Johansen's Soul", of which an acoustic version was released on Black Crosses, and "Dead Generations", which remains unreleased in any form.

Reception

White Crosses received generally favorable critical reception, despite being leaked three months before its retail release date. The album was mainly praised for its success in merging Against Me!'s long-time punk rock style with, according to critics, a newfound ethos of "arena-" or "radio rock", through its melody and "big" sound.

Track listing

Bonus tracks

''Black Crosses''

In 2011 Against Me! launched their own record label, Total Treble Music, reissuing ''White Crosses'' with an added disc titled ''Black Crosses'' consisting of demos from 2009 (referred to as the Goldentone Studio versions) and acoustic sessions from 2010. The reissue features original artwork by Steak Mtn and a 32-page booklet with lyrics and additional artwork, and was released July 26, 2011, on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

and as a

music download A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...

, and August 9 as a triple LP; it became available in the UK and Europe in November from the band's UK label

Xtra Mile Recordings Xtra Mile Recordings are a British independent record label based in London, England. The label was founded in 2003 by Charlie Caplowe and they release an eclectic mix of genres with a focus on rock and folk. History The label first signed the ...

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

Band

* Laura Jane Grace –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* James Bowman – guitar,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Andrew Seward Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals * George Rebelo –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals *

– drums, backing vocals on ''Black Crosses'' (tracks 1, 4–5, 7–11, 14)

Additional musicians

* Zac Rae – additional

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

on ''White Crosses'' (tracks 3, 5) * Jon Gaunt –

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

on ''White Crosses'' (track 12), ''Black Crosses'' (track 7) * Ron McGregor – mouth harp on ''White Crosses'' (track 12)

Production

– producer * Billy Bush –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Chris Steffen – assistant engineer * Alan Moulder –

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

* Darren Lawson – mix assistant * Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta – mastering

Art and design

* Christopher Norris and Laura Jane Grace – art direction * Steak Mtn – design, typography, and illustration * Autumn deWilde – band photography

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums Sire Records albums Against Me! albums Albums produced by Butch Vig Power pop albums by American artists