Armed with a blistering, aggressive new single "Nowhere Generation", the multi-platinum, politically imbued punk rockers RISE AGAINST celebrate the track's catapulting into the Top 25 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and Top 30 on Billboard's Alternative charts in only its third week of release. The song is a David-and-Goliath call-to-arms directed primarily at Millennials, Gen Ys, and Gen Zs to preserve and defend the fact that people, not politicians, hold the real power and that our younger generations need to reclaim that power to ensure the future of American Democracy. In its debut week, "Nowhere Generation" was the No. 1 Most Added track at both Rock and Alternative radio, an accomplishment that only FOO FIGHTERS' No. 1 smash "Shame, Shame" also achieved in the past year. Additionally, in the short time since its debut, "Nowhere Generation" has contributed 2.3 million streams to the band's global total of nearly 4 billion.
A new performance music video of "Nowhere Generation" can be seen below.
"Nowhere Generation" is the title track from what may be the most consequential album of RISE AGAINST's 20-year career, due out June 4 on Loma Vista Recordings. The eleven songs on "Nowhere Generation" call out today's social, economic, and political factors that are undermining and redefining one of the core tenants of being an American: that despite your race, place of birth, or societal class, if you apply yourself and work hard, you can achieve your vision of a fuller, richer and better life, The American Dream. What is tantamount to a sell-out of the Middle Class is the thread that runs through the album. Said vocalist/lyricist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath: "The brass ring that was promised by hard work and dedication no longer exists for everyone. When the privileged climb the ladder of success and then burn it from the top, disruption becomes the only answer."
For the "Nowhere Generation" project, the band worked with the Grammy-nominated creative director Brian Roettinger (Jay-Z, FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE, NO AGE) to craft an impressive and truly inspired capsule of album offerings. Those include:
* CD in a soft pack jacket with a multi-page lyric booklet
* 12-inch, limited edition vinyl picture disc (exclusive to the band's webstore)
* Deluxe album edition with a distinctive spinning wheel gatefold jacket with die-cut front cover; a 12-page album art booklet insert, and a bonus 7" featuring two "Nowhere Session" versions of album standouts "Nowhere Generation" + "Broken Dreams, Inc."; special vinyl color variants for retail worldwide as well as the band's webstore.
* Standard vinyl format that includes a single sleeve, dorado paper-wrapped jacket, with lyric insert featuring metallic ink; multiple special vinyl color variants for select retailers as well as the band's webstore.
* Exclusive versions of the album, on vinyl and CD available at Target. A jacket with exclusive interchangeable inserts and special colored vinyl for the LP and a bonus "Nowhere Session" song on the CD.
RISE AGAINST â McIlrath, Joe Principe (bass), Brandon Barnes (drums) and Zach Blair (lead guitar) â recorded "Nowhere Generation" at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, under the tutelage of Jason Livermore, Andrew Berlin, Chris Beeble and longtime producer/engineer Bill Stevenson (BLACK FLAG, THE DESCENDENTS). Stevenson has worked with the band on nearly all of their acclaimed releases since their sophomore effort, 2003's "Revolutions Per Minute", and is often described as RISE AGAINST's fifth member. "Bill is our not-so-secret weapon," Principe explained. "He really has helped shape the band; he gets what we want to do and will go with us when we think outside the box. He's the perfect producer for the style of music we play because he has an insane pop sensibility and the hardcore side to him as well."
In addition to the communal call to arms embedded in "Nowhere Generation"'s dynamic title track, there's the fast and furious anti-establishment manifesto "Broken Dreams, Inc.", the moody ballad "Forfeit", "Sudden Urge", a true nod to the band's rock'n'roll side with an overall punk-vibe, the simplicity of "The Numbers" with a melody that will stick in your head, and the surprise pop candor in "Talking To Ourselves", a standout song about wanting to be heard and wondering if anyone is listening. "It describes a lot of what RISE AGAINST does," says McIlrath, "to speak and scream when we feel there are things that are happening that aren't being addressed."
"When I was growing up," said Principe, "I listened to bands like 7 SECONDS, BAD BRAINS, MINOR THREAT and BAD RELIGION. All of those bands' music had a sense of hope with the world, a truly positive global view of what life can be. From the beginning, we've wanted RISE AGAINST to have that same positivity, to have our music be an inspiration for people to bring about change in their own lives, they just have to put forth the effort and speak up."
Photo credit: Wyatt Troll
