As the Eternal Cowboy by Against Me!

As the Eternal Cowboy, Against Me!'s second album and first for Fat Wreck Chords, came out on November 3, 2003, and it's the sound of the Gainesville punks barreling ahead at full tilt, all hoarse throats and gang shouts. Laura Jane Grace, who started the band in 1997, sings and plays guitar like she's arguing with the whole room at once, James Bowman adds guitar and backing vocals, Warren Oakes pounds the drums, and new bassist Andrew Seward, who'd replaced Dustin Fridkin the year before, locks it all down. Rob McGregor, who'd produced their debut, was back behind the board.

The songs are shouted and stuffed with ideas, and "Cliche Guevara" is the one the countdowns picked up. It was the first Against Me! album to reach the Billboard charts, landing at 36 on the independent albums list, and in 2009 Fat Wreck put out The Original Cowboy, the demo they cut while getting ready to make it.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.