It may have spent the year steeping in controversy, even before it was released, but Against Me!'s New Wave is lining up accolades in critic's "Best Of" lists.

MTV's resident contrarian James Montgomery put the album as number 2 in his list, saying:

The massive choruses. The even more massive hooks. The major label. The big–name producer. The boy/girl duet. The protest song that made fun of protest songs. There probably wasn't a more unapologetic record made this year -- seriously, New Wave might actually redefine the word "unabashed" -- and Against Me! are totally aware of this, and they don't care what you (or the majority of their old fans) think, which is why Against Me! are awesome, and why this album totally rules. Punk rock is probably dead already, but if it isn't, well, this is the album that killed it off forever.

"Forget for a moment that it was released by a major label, was greeted with cries of "sellout!", and was glossily produced by Butch Vig: New Wave is a solid, hook–filled rock album that--while it can't avoid sounding hypocritical to anyone who's followed the band from its unforgiving DIY days--manages to translate the band's usual anti–capitalist screeds and industry–related laments into digestible, sing–along packages. If the title track ("We can be the bands we want to hear / We can define our own generation"] didn't inspire a hundred kids to pick up guitars this year, then there's no hope left for punk rock.