Edgefest

You can’t force artistry. True musical creations are typically launched via pure inspiration or serendipitous moments and ideas that are often baked to perfection through sheer work and dedication. Still, many musical artists have opted to churn out songs with a cookie-cutter, assembly line mentality, cramming albums with formulaic songwriting, by-the-book tolerances and the kind of bullish one-upmanship that’s more commonly seen in a corporate — and definitely not creative — environment.

But, as frontman Tim McIlrath confirms, there is no preset framework for the Chicago-based melodic hardcore band that refuses to adhere to any established norm in the music industry. “We took the same approach to this record as we’ve done to our previous records, which is actually a lack of approach,” McIlrath says. “There’s no approach. It’s just show up and let’s play. There’s no plan, we don’t map it out, we don’t decide on a direction. We just kind of let it happen real naturally. That’s how it happened.”