Against Me

Florida punk band Against Me successfully negotiated the move to a major label without compromising its smart, passionate politics (“American Abroad”) or mediating its ferocious, shout-along musical intensity on July’s Warner Bros. debut, New Wave. Charismatic frontman Tom Gabel’s ragged voice growls over the band’s chunky mix of chiming guitars and propulsive rhythms. Arrive early and catch one of best songwriters in the country, Dave Dondero. His amusing, self-effacing style and canny lyricism are accompanied by a deep empathy expressed in thoughtful story songs that ponder his predilection for “The One That Fell From the Vine” or spin a “Double Murder Ballad Suicide.”

“White People for Peace” by Against Me, from New Wave (Warner Bros):