Tragedy Ann's follow-up to last year's surprise hit, Lesser, is chock full of its own surprises. For one thing, the whole tone of One Nation Under God is less dark, less foreboding, less angry than Lesser. For another, the production values have shot through the roof. This album rocks. No artificial flavors; no artificial colors; no kidding. This is standard, three-chord progression, double-kick drum, driving bass line, yell-into-the-microphone rock 'n' roll. With passionate wailings reminiscent of the late Jim Morrison, frontman/songwriter Mikee Bridges delivers an 11-song treatise on Christianity as seen through the eyes of the MTV generation. He decries the tendency of middle class Christians to judge people based on their appearance in "Preaching Lies," marvels at the faithfulness of a loving wife in "45" and struggles with the dichotomy of rock star hero worship and its value (or lack thereof) to the Kingdom of God. I don't want to be a rock star/ but if I wasn't could I talk to you about Jesus? he asks in "Eugene." His answer: probably not. The album, like Bridges, is brash, opinionated and uncompromising. It challenges authority, acknowledges its own weaknesses and ultimately tones down the volume and focuses on worshipping God.
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #77Reviewed by Doug Van PeltI was very curious to see how Tragedy Ann would settle in to their new sound. Having made the drastic jump from its muscle heavy grungified Sometime Sunday music, Mikee Bridges and company practically made Tragedy Ann a bonafide Southern Rock band (minus the slide guitars and references to whiskey). Mikee's voice really fit the music, and the songs were done well. Now that they've established…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Josh SpencerTragedy Ann's debut was a letdown for many fans of frontman Mikee Bridges' previous outfit, Sometime Sunday. It was okay, but the positive power rock just didn't stack up to the mournful grunge they were used to. But hey, everyone has a bad day every once in a while (and in fact, that album was rushed to be written and recorded in little more than one), and some held out hopes for the sequel.…Similar sounding releases
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