Apparently, this writer didn't even get so far as listening to the first track of the new record, "Play It Loud." From the start, Mike Herrera, who like many frontman in this genre has a knack for writing the same song over and over with with slightly different lyrics, almost directly addresses what many of the writer's trite questions seemed to focus on. "We don't need fortune, we don't need fame. We don't need bright lights to spell out our name. All we ever wanted was to play."

Is it a vain attempt of a tattoed rocker plucked "straight from the crowd" trying to connect with his audience or is it a genuine response to the question of whether seeing other bands step over them to gain fame by essentially copying a sound they copied from someone else first? Given the history of the band and their nice guy status, I'd like to think this statement comes from a genuine place. For when Herrera, with his simple lyrics about being an individual and not losing sight of that carefree attitude of hanging out after school listening to crappy punk rock music, fists waving in the air, says it, the whole redundancy of the genre no longer seems to matter.

This album is filled with plenty that is predictable for fans old and new of the band. There's of course the more polished sound that having a larger recording budget lends itself to and the occasional addition of piano in the mix. But they haven't turned Brian Adams or anything and the arguments that are as empty now as they were seven years ago about the band's spiritual responsibility or focus are irrelevant. What's kept this band going for ten years in the first place was never really the music, but the attitude. The mere fact that they are "living a dream" and seemingly content comes through in their songs geared toward the teenage sect they used to represent. A careful listen to their latest 16-song effort is not needed.

You just need to put the top down, crank up the stereo, relax, and listen to the carefree pop-punk sounds of a group that show no sign of slowing down. They love what they do. They're fairly decent at it. Who cares if they "make it" in the superficial sense, because in their minds they already have it made.

posted 09.16.03

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Matt Ralph has bags full of bad CD's. Add to his collection at matt@tangzine.com