Teenage Bottlerocket They Came From The Shadows Review

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

Beyond Possession - Way, Way Beyond Crossover Skate Punk

We promised to cover it all and so I shall. At the opposite end of what's going on in alt / punk with bands like just the featured The Classic Crime, comes Beyond Possession. Their self-titled 1986 crossover / thrash metal / skate rock punk release blew the doors off of the genre, or did it? Their vinyl legacy is small, but for a brief moment we were all able to catch a glimpse of this grinding, aggressive, Canadian band and on this release they outshine many of their peers with a very complete, appropriately short and altogether rockin' crossover classic!

At some point, most of the bands on Thrasher Skate Rock Vol. 3: Wild Riders of Boards (hey, can they make the cd booklet be shaped like a board deck like the lp was?) will be featured here. I'm actually not one for compilations, but that one rocked. Boneless Ones, Christ on Parade, Accused, COC and the aforementioned Beyond Possession leading the way with "Skater's Life" and "My Disease". That comp. was loaded with skate punk classics, and among them is this scene-famous Canadian Rockies band. Death Records released the "Is Beyond Possession" record to, if I remember correctly, very little fanfare as I picked up an early cutout of this release at Lou's Records...had the genre been saturated by Accused, Suicidal Tendencies, Dr. Know? Who knows, but this band put together a record that does well when slicing against the grain (seems like a cooking theme is coming). There was some amazing stuff going on between punk and metal at that time with legendary releases from DRI, Excel, Verbal Abuse, English Dogs and Suicidal Tendencies. Why does this record merit similar praise?

Here is why: Beyond Possession took only the best ingredients of punk and metal, mixed in some local Western Canada flavor and mixed it all up with some truly solid, crisp cooking techniques (production). "Never Nothing New" leads off and is one of the strongest tracks on the record. For tempo-change driven blasts, check out "Depression" "Beyond Possession" and "Creeping Eruption". Nice background gang vocals are found throughout this release, as is the odd, short guitar solo. At that time, some of this crossover hardcore was sloppy and garage punk in nature. That's cool, but that is not this release. Making an impressive record, for very little money, is quite a feat. Making one that is true to the genre and still has the sonic clarity that you often hope for is even more rare. Perhaps they saved on ink, by omitting information about the band and focused their Canadian Dollars on production. Whatever it was, this was a frenetic, fuzzy guitar skate punk free-for-all and twenty years later continues to stand the test of time.

X - The Unheard Music

I know that in a discussion of forefathers (mothers) of punk, X might not often enter into the discussion and that's OK. I bought my first punk record in 1983, so I did not necessarily witness the birth of the genre(s), although in retrospect, I have developed some new appreciation for some of the pioneers (Sex Pistols, Black Flag, The Clash, Ramones). So for me, many of my own personal views as to innovation and influence mainly start in the 80's. Maybe that simply speaks to age, but it's probably more than that.

In my own case, the stuff that got me excited was either hyper-paced or really melodic, with a fair amount of skate punk thrown in for good measure (I think it's a rule to like skate punk if you a. lived in So. Cal b. skated the drainage pipe out behind your house or c. thought "faster is better when it comes to music"). I was three for three! So my list of 80's punk pioneers include Dead Kennedy's, DRI, Dr. Know, Raw Power, Agnostic Front, Suicidal Tendencies, 7 Seconds but leading the pack was the LA based punk band X. John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom and D.J. Bonebrake changed punk forever.

So, on the melodic side of punk, X was a game-changer. Exene and John's vocal harmony, while some might find "off", was the foundation of the band that led the LA punk scene. There was a complexity to X, one not found in peers of their day. Their brand of punk was emotional, political, social and at times challenging. At times hardcore "Real Child of Hell", "Johnny Hit and Run Paulene", "Los Angeles", at times rock "Have-Nots", "We're Having Much More Fun", "Universal Corner" and many times dark and haunting "White Girl", ""Unheard Music" and "My Soul Cries Your Name" but all of the time engaging the listener.

While some may not care for what the band did later in their career, I think their entire body of work is legendary. Take some time to learn about X. Here is a recommended course:

1. Watch "X - The Unheard Music" DVD.

2. Listen to "X - Los Angeles"

3. Listen to "X - More Fun in the New World"

4. Watch "X - Live in Los Angeles"

5. Listen to "X - Under the Big Black Sun"

6. Listen to "X - Make the Music Go Bang!"

X was the complete package. Talented song-writing, aggressive style, haunting harmonies and social awareness.

Go Grab Some X At iTunes