Album review: Rise Against – Ricochet

In his novel For Whom The Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway wrote: ‘The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for.’ It’s presumably a sentiment Rise Against agree with regarding the importance of standing up for what’s right, even if the quality of the people dividing and slowly destroying this marble we’re on is highly questionable.

Ricochet, the Chicago punk rockers’ 10th album, is a reminder that we are all interconnected and interdependent – and what we do, for good and for ill, has implications for others that can be revisited upon us. As a result, there’s a certain melancholy to this record, as if its authors are resigned to simply kicking against the pricks, unable to undo what’s been done – an idea expressed more explicitly by the stark Damage Is Done.

What Ricochet isn’t, however, is an attempt, musically, at new things. But do Rise Against have to change? Restless musical evolution is for bands chafing against limitations, or attempting to fix something they, or others, consider to be broken. Striving for consistency isn’t aiming for complacency. Rise Against’s sound is tried and tested, tireless in its ability to rouse and empower, with enough fresh targets to aim their lyrical ire at to keep things riveting. So while this is a familiar, albeit more polished ride, it’s replete with beautiful moments, such as Black Crown and Gold Long Gone, that stay with you and work on you; it’s music that lovingly infiltrates hearts and minds rather than bludgeoning you over the head with its message.

We’re living in an age when people are increasingly sniffy about music and politics being mixed, either because they think it detracts from the former, or more because they’re worried it’ll unsettle the way their thoughts lean on the latter. Thankfully, no amount of success will stop Rise Against from making records that move – whether that’s moving feet, fists, volume levels or the dial of change. Long may it continue. Long may they rise.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Billy Talent, NOFX, Dropkick Murphys

Ricochet is released on August 15 via Loma Vista