Rancid-let the dominoes fall
July 8th 2009 09:27
Rancid’s seventh record has taken six years to surface and when a band has been gone for so long you start to wonder. How will it stand to their previous efforts? Will the songs still match the quality of music that came from albums like the brilliant ‘..And Out Come The Wolves’, ‘Rancid V’ and 2003’s ‘Indestructible’? Are the band still relevant now days? Six years is a long time in music. In their absence Blink 182 have split and reformed. New bands run the scene like the commercially successful Fall Out Boy, the rise of bands like Rise Against, Gaslight Anthem and New Found Glory have turned Rancid into old punkers in the same category as Bad Religion and NOFX. And the members side projects never really kicked off. Transplants last record was shit. Lars’ new band were neither here or there and Matt’s bands never got anywhere.
The good news is Rancid is back and the essence of ’79 is back!! Big singalong choruses, simple 4 chord progressions, a ton of attitude and cool emanates from this album. ‘East Bay Night’ kicks off with a track that could sit on any Rancid album and still be great. ‘Last One To Die’ is a great middle finger song to those who think they’re washed up and gone. ‘Dominoes Fall’ with it’s tribute to the Ramones with the “hey,ho”. ‘Civilian Ways’ is a different sound musically with acoustic guitars and mandolins and Tim singing as softly as his raspy voice can allow. ‘Lulu’ is a nice song to America and shows the renewed love for their country now that Bush is gone.
Vocal duties are shared between Tim, Lars and Matt and new drummer Brandon really adds a new dimension to Rancid’s sound and is likely due to him being a more accomplished drummer than Brett was. While some of the songs are bit mellower and not as straight up punk like early efforts, the sound is still Rancid. It’s still punk rock with some elements of ska. While fans were a bit confused with the different tones to ‘Life Won’t Wait’ , now they will appreciate the different sounds here. But in the end of the day, this is still a punk record by one of the best punk bands in the world. You will sing the harmonies to ‘The Bravest Kids’ which surely be a live favorite. You will love the “shimmy shimmy shimmies” from Matts growling voice in ‘LA River‘ even if it does sound stupid.(but it’s Matt’s best bass work) The band have found their love for their music again and will hopefully inspire more albums to come.
Thank god this album didn’t suck and thank god we have Rancid back.
The good news is Rancid is back and the essence of ’79 is back!! Big singalong choruses, simple 4 chord progressions, a ton of attitude and cool emanates from this album. ‘East Bay Night’ kicks off with a track that could sit on any Rancid album and still be great. ‘Last One To Die’ is a great middle finger song to those who think they’re washed up and gone. ‘Dominoes Fall’ with it’s tribute to the Ramones with the “hey,ho”. ‘Civilian Ways’ is a different sound musically with acoustic guitars and mandolins and Tim singing as softly as his raspy voice can allow. ‘Lulu’ is a nice song to America and shows the renewed love for their country now that Bush is gone.
Vocal duties are shared between Tim, Lars and Matt and new drummer Brandon really adds a new dimension to Rancid’s sound and is likely due to him being a more accomplished drummer than Brett was. While some of the songs are bit mellower and not as straight up punk like early efforts, the sound is still Rancid. It’s still punk rock with some elements of ska. While fans were a bit confused with the different tones to ‘Life Won’t Wait’ , now they will appreciate the different sounds here. But in the end of the day, this is still a punk record by one of the best punk bands in the world. You will sing the harmonies to ‘The Bravest Kids’ which surely be a live favorite. You will love the “shimmy shimmy shimmies” from Matts growling voice in ‘LA River‘ even if it does sound stupid.(but it’s Matt’s best bass work) The band have found their love for their music again and will hopefully inspire more albums to come.
Thank god this album didn’t suck and thank god we have Rancid back.
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