Trans Am is living in a police state, and with Liberation, they’re not gonna take it anymore. Their seventh LP is a return to their signature Kraftwerk-meets-classic-rock-sound and marks the first time the Washington, D.C. trio has placed overt politics in their music. As my personal rule-of-thumb suggests, it should be their last. Public Enemy notwithstanding, soapbox musicianship invariably leads to one big buzzkill, and fun, as I recall, is what made Trans Am interesting in the first place. Although Liberation does have its stirring moments, the bumper-sticker politics of tracks like “Uninvited Guest” (guess who that refers to?) mar things too early and too often.