White Crosses is Against Me!'s fifth studio album, and their second to be released on Sire Records. As with its predecessor, 2007's New Wave, the album was produced by Butch Vig.[2] It is also the only Against Me! album to feature George Rebelo, drummer of Hot Water Music, following the departure of previous drummer Warren Oakes.
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.[1] The initial pressing of the record included four bonus tracks.[3] 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.[4] A four-track digital EP for "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" was released as the first single from the album, on April 7, 2010.[5]
The two outtakes from the White Crosses sessions are "David Johansen's Soul",[6][7] of which an acoustic version was released on Black Crosses, and "Dead Generations",[8] which remains[as of?] unreleased in any form.
White Crosses received generally favorable critical reception,[9] despite being leaked three months before its retail release date.[18] 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.[10][13][11]
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 and a 32-page booklet with lyrics and additional artwork, and was released July 26, 2011, on compact disc and as a music download, and August 9 as a triple LP;[19] it became available in the UK and Europe in November from the band's UK label Xtra Mile Recordings.[20]
^ Jump up to: abMincher, Chris (June 8, 2010). "Against Me!: White Crosses". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 3, 2020. Diehards in the punk scene won’t like it specifically because it’s meant to be inclusive, but based purely on music and message, New Wave and White Crosses prove that powerful albums don’t have to sidestep the mainstream.
^Pastorek, Whitney (May 26, 2010). "White Crosses". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 3, 2020. …whaddaya know, it is possible to merrily sing along with lines like 'We were bashing our brains out on a kitchen cabinet.'
^ Jump up to: abLang, JJ (June 3, 2010). "Against Me! White Crosses Sire". LAS Magazine. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2020. White Crosses is no retread. Rather, it's an even more focused, equally compelling follow-up to 2007's arena-punk juggernaut New Wave. Maybe even better.
^Conaton, Chris (June 1, 2010). "Against Me!: White Crosses". PopMatters. Retrieved April 3, 2020. White Crosses is a huge, mainstream rock album that draws as much from Bruce Springsteen and U2 as it does from Against Me!'s own folk-punk roots. Sorry, bitter old-school fans, but it's really, really good.
^Pelone, Joe (June 8, 2010). "Against Me! - White Crosses". PunkNews.org. Retrieved April 3, 2020. It's a logical growth from New Wave, with Butch Vig again manning the soundboards, but it's one that I can't grow with.
^Cole, Matthew (June 7, 2010). "Review: Against Me!, White Crosses". Slant Magazine. Retrieved April 3, 2020. They’re vets now, but they’re still an evolving band that’s yet to figure out anything as big as the world or as small as their own sound. And they’re probably better for it.
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