You know, reviews at Punk Mecca are like total solar eclipses...if they occurred more frequently they wouldn't be nearly as special!Straight outta Wyoming comes our punk rock savior! Folks, let me tell you, this is something special and a real turning point for the genre. Nobody is making music like this today, seriously, nobody! This is raw, unpretentious, stripped down, funny, sarcastic, pulsating rock and it's going to turn music upside down! In an age of over produced, comb thy hair over thy right eye, stupid long song titles and image control, TBR takes us all back to a simpler time and reminds us all why we like this music in the first place. It's not the packaging, it's the sound and performance. God bless TBR!!!
This review will be fun to write. Let's be honest, skate punk is about the most under appreciated sub-genre in punk, going back for many, many years. Sure, there have been some great releases from all kinds of bands like Boneless Ones, Excel, Suicidal, Aggression, Ill Repute, JFA, etc. But all of those are at least 20+ years old. It's not that Teenage Bottlerocket's "They Came From The Shadows" is all about skate punk, but it's certainly rooted there and more than any other release of the genre, it's marries pure aggression with clever writing and "don't care if this offends you" lyrics.
Teenage Bottlerocket's "They Came From The Shadows", released on Fat Wreck Chords, is pure, simple, polished music. I think I love it for its simplicity on every level. It's packaging is simple, there's a no frills approach to the artwork and they even apply simplicity to the amount of silence between tracks. (eg. not much) How cool is that!
"Skate or Die" starts off the frenzied, harrowing paced skate rock. It's an instant classic, sort of reminds of "Skate For The Devil" by Boneless Ones or "Possessed To Skate" by Suicidal Tendencies. How can you not reminisce when listening to tracks like this? It's kind of old school. When was the last time you thought about the Bones Brigade? OK, there's some of you who will say "what the hell is Bones Brigade"? Those who know, know and are smiling.
While there is most definitely a TBR sound, there is still a great deal of depth on this release. The tracks ramble between mid-paced punk a la Alkaline Trio like on "Call In Sick" and "Without You" to more hyper-paced stuff likened to 7 Seconds on "Fatso Goes Nutzoid". You'll here Ramones, Black Flag, Misfits, Circle Jerks sounds on "They Came From The Shadows" and it's all respectful. The album closes with TBR's own "Bro Hymn" with "Todayo", a track that invites the listener to start it all over again.
This band clearly does not take itself too seriously and not since NoFX has a band come along that you can't help but laugh out loud when you hear some of the lyrics. NoFX has "Eddie, Bruce and Paul" a great take on the history of Iron Maiden. TBR counters with "Bigger Than Kiss", which references a handful of Kiss album titles and other Kiss fodder. "Ace Frehley can play guitar, but he ain't know fucking Kerry King". Awesome, you can't make this stuff up!
Like I said at the outset, this was indeed fun to write. If you are looking for some great American punk, loaded with melodies and harmonies, stinging guitar lines, head bopping music, you cannot go wrong with this one! About to embark on a short West Coast tour with label mates, Lawrence Arms, Teenage Bottlerocket are poised for simple success that comes from knowing who they are as a band, sticking to their roots and consistently delivering great music. (Authors Note: Every attempt was made to honor the bands simplicity in the brevity and crisp spirit of this review.)
Go grab it at iTunes
or Amazon
