Rise Against has returned with new music and it packs a powerful message. The band has shared their new single, "Nowhere Generation," and announced their new upcoming album of the same name, set to be released on June 4.
In "Nowhere Generation" the band's Tim McIlrath sings in the chorus, "We are the nowhere generation/ We are the kids that no one wants/ We are a credible threat to the rules you set/ A cause to be alarmed/ We are not the names that we've been given/ We speak a language you don't know/ We are the nowhere Generation."
In a statement, McIlrath explained of the meaning behind their new music, "Today there is the promise of the American Dream, and then there is the reality of the American Dream. America’s 'historical norm' that the next generation will be better off than the one that came before has been diminished by an era of mass social, economic, and political instability and a sell-out of the Middle Class. 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."
He added, "I’ve come to realize that people want honesty and that music can be a catalyst for change. I think in many ways, we’ve been on a mission to rile people up, and I feel very lucky to be able to do that. Our hope on this record is to jostle people awake, even it if makes you uncomfortable."
Nowhere Generation follows Rise Against's 2017 album, Wolves, and was recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado. The new project includes its just-released title track, and songs "Broken Dreams, Inc.," "Forefeit," "Sudden Urge," "The Numbers," "Talking To Ourselves" and more. McIlrath says of Nowhere Generation, "It describes a lot of what Rise Against does; to speak and scream when we feel there are things that are happening that aren’t being addressed."
The band's Joe Principe added, "When I was growing up, 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."