"The Disco Before the Breakdown" is the first single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 by the Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...

-based punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band Against Me!

Against Me!

Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida and relocated to Gainesville, Florida in 1999. Their first full-length album, released on No Idea Records in 2002, was Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose. They have released music on Misanthrope Records, Crasshole Records,...

, released in November 2002 by No Idea Records

No Idea Records

For other uses, see No Idea .No Idea Records is an independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which produces both vinyl records and compact discs...

. It was the band's first release with bassist Andrew Seward, replacing original bassist Dustin Fridkin who had left the group several months prior. The lineup of Seward, Tom Gabel

Tom Gabel

Thomas James "Tom" Gabel is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and a guitarist for Gainesville, Florida punk rock band Against Me!, as well as a solo artist. He was born on Fort Benning, Georgia a US Army post, where his father was stationed. At age 17, he dropped out of high school and formed Against...

, James Bowman, and Warren Oakes

Warren Oakes

Warren Oakes is an American drummer best known for his eight years spent as the drummer for the punk rock band Against Me!.On June 8, 2009 he announced that he was leaving the band to pursue a career as a restauranteur...

 would remain in place until 2009. The single was released as both a vinyl 7" and a compact disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

. It is typically listed as an EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

, though its format is typical of a single.

Critical reception

Reviewing "The Disco Before the Breakdown", Corey Apar of Allmusic gave it two out of five stars, calling it "A tolerable set of songs with personal lyrics, but with the exception of the relatively upbeat and horn-friendly title track, this EP is missing some of the group's standard energetic and reckless vigor; instead, listeners are left with a slight feeling of boredom."

7" version

CD version

Against Me!

• Tom Gabel
  Tom Gabel
  Thomas James "Tom" Gabel is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and a guitarist for Gainesville, Florida punk rock band Against Me!, as well as a solo artist. He was born on Fort Benning, Georgia a US Army post, where his father was stationed. At age 17, he dropped out of high school and formed Against...
  
   – guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  , lead vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , art concepts and layout
• James Bowman – guitar, backing vocals
• Andrew Seward – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , backing vocals
• Warren Oakes
  Warren Oakes
  Warren Oakes is an American drummer best known for his eight years spent as the drummer for the punk rock band Against Me!.On June 8, 2009 he announced that he was leaving the band to pursue a career as a restauranteur...
  
   – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  

Additional personnel

• Brian Pettit – backing vocals and horns on "The Disco Before the Breakdown"
• Patrick and Ryan Quinney, Samantha Jones, Todd Weissfeld, and Var Thelin – backing vocals on "The Disco Before the Breakdown"
• Jessica Mills – horns on "The Disco Before the Breakdown"
• Derron Nuhfter – producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  , horns on "The Disco Before the Breakdown"

External links

• "The Disco Before the Breakdown" at Against Me!'s official website – includes links to song lyrics
• "The Disco Before the Breakdown" at No Idea Records
  No Idea Records
  For other uses, see No Idea .No Idea Records is an independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which produces both vinyl records and compact discs...