Against Me! s major-label debut, New Wave, was their bid into the mainstream music scene, landing them on major festival bills and earning them the praise of national magazines. It was a record with more rock polish than grit thanks to producer Butch Vig, and when longtime drummer Warren Oakes later left and was replaced by former Hot Water Music skinsman George Rebelo, it was pretty clear that their follow-up would even further mark a new chapter for the band -- a new lineup, a new energy. But what couldn t be known was just how much of a progression it would be. White Crosses is a big-sounding album with a blue-collar soul, but though the guitars may aim for the rafters alongside lofty, singalong choruses, the songwriting ultimately comes off safer and more commonplace than anything they ve done yet. The title track never really hits, and the pointed I Was a Teenage Anarchist has Tom Gabel slamming the door on his anarcho-punk past with a wide-open chorus that could use a little more heft....