This is something of a departure. Swing Life Away won't come as a much of a shock to those with an interest in Rise Against - they will have already encountered this track on their album Siren Song Of The Counter Culture - but there will be those who have not caught the band since they were on Fat Wreck Chords (Fat Mike from NOFX's label), and Swing Life Away is about as far away from Rise Against's hardcore punk background as you can get.
A purely acoustic track, this is more to have them weeping in the aisles than slamming in the pit. Lyrically, this has more in common with the likes of Bruce Springsteen than it does punk luminaries such as Black Flag. Swing Life Away is a gentler look at working class life; taking in love on minimum wage, hopes and fears, and a work ethic that most slackers couldn't possibly comprehend. It's more melancholic than Six Pack's Neanderthal blast for example, but it's no less effective.
This may well be a brave move from Rise Against, but it shows off their versatility and will almost certainly introduce them to a new audience.
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