Appeal to Reason (2008)

Chicagos Rise Against would like to be known as a punk band with both a social conscience and an ear for melody. Too bad frontman Tim McIlrath sings protest anthems that lean closer to the burnished angst of such bands as New Found Glory and Fall Out Boy than the genuine outrage of brainy Green Day. That's a serious issue on Appeal to Reason; songs like ''Re-Education (Through Labor)'' and ''Entertainment,'' which seeks to redress the evils of media manipulation upon the land, are peppy but pretty empty, power-chord downers with little bark or bite. C+
Download This: Listen to tracks from Appeal to Reason on the band's MySpace page