Rancid are one of the biggest names in the street punk and ska punk genres. Led by frontman Tim Armstrong, their mix of punk, pop and ska has given them a very loyal fanbase, as well as having a few genre highlight records under their belts with albums like ‘…And Out Come The Wolves’ and ‘Let’s Go.’ In addition, their influence continues to be felt through many of the bands on Tim’s ‘Hellcat’ label like RAT BOY and The Interrupters. Now, 6 years after their ninth, the band are back with their tenth record, a “comeback” album called ‘Tomorrow Never Comes.’
Having not heard a Rancid album in full before, I was really excited to get to into this album, not only because the music I’d heard from bands influenced by them was pretty wicked, but given their status as one of the greats of the genre, if not the great, given that this was in certain places being billed as a comeback record, I thought this was as good a record as any to start off with. So it’s safe to say I was buzzing from the off. However, one thing I’m always wary of, particularly with modern punk albums is, due to their often one dimensional style, long tracklists can often cause problems for their enjoyability. For me, it could be my favourite band in the world, but if an album gets to around 14 tracks, I generally think that’s pushing it a bit, and so to see this album reached 16 tracks in less than 29 minutes set some alarm bells off for sure. Regardless though, I thought given the band’s reputation, even in the absolute worst case, we’d be getting a pretty good modern punk album, even if it was a bit one-dimensional. So, does this album act as a great gateway into one of street punk’s best bands? Or is this yet another instance of a modern punk album favouring quantity over quality and sonic diversity…
Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB4HSKYCrwU
Buy it yourself: https://uk.kingsroadmerch.com/rancid
My blog: https://evanwhittonhourblog.blogspot.com
Background music:
Wu Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEhS6wtURB0)
Freddie Joachim – Waves (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykZHqx84YS0)
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