Album #121: NOFX - So Long and Thanks For All The Shoes

NOFX

So Long and Thanks For All The Shoes (1997)

A few bands (and albums) I've reviewed so far on The LOAD Project have been chosen because of their association with my younger years - a sort of musical time machine, if you will. For whatever reason, they form part of the soundtrack of my teens and early twenties. 

Along with bands like Pennywise, Area 7 and Millencolin, NOFX were a staple feature of Friday night drinks at the wetlands/Patto's house/the Wellsy's/wherever we found ourselves. So Long and Thanks For All The Shoes is the album that I associate the closest; I seem to have a hazy, drunken memory of seeing the Neapolitan ice cream album cover a number of times in the CD pile that constituted the musical selections for these nights out. I enjoyed what I heard, but then again, it was twelve years ago and I was usually drunk.

Today, I'm going to listen to it (I'm not drunk....well not as badly anyway) with a fresh, older, objective ear and see how it ranks in punk terms.

The Album

What you see is what you get with NOFX. There's no pretentious bullshit, no massive overdubs or reliance on studio trickery. There's half an hour of straight up frenetic punk rock, with the occasional detour into ska and reggae territory. Fat Mike's lyrics swing between cynical politics and reflections on drug use (or the lack thereof) and explore other places in between; Fat Mike has always been a decent lyricist who is at his best when he's got a reason to be pissed off, and this album is no different. Musically, the band are four very competent, multiskilled musicians (and in the case of drummer Erik Sandin, he's not so much 'competent' as a goddamned beast). 

From the outset, and the acerbic It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite, Fat Mike and friends lay forth the manifesto of the album. There's none of the commercially-minded pop punk here, just an adherence to the 'old' ways of short, fast, loud. For the most part, that's maintained through rapid fire tunes such as Kids of the K-Hole, Murder the Government and the supremely catchy Monosyllabic Girl (the latter two clock in at less than a minute). The highlight though is Fat Mike's bitter attack on Riot Grrl Kathleen Hanna, Kill Rock Stars, which does punk rock anger right, in both vocal delivery and sonic aggression. Special mention also has to be made of The Desperation's Gone, which bemoans the lack of urgency, anger, emotion and malice in late 90s punk rock.

NOFX also feature several ska tracks that act not only as a welcome change but also emphasise the band's ear for clever, pleasant melodies. All Outta Angst is by-the-numbers fun ska-punk, but its breezy reggae-tinged guitar and bright horns make it an ideal skanking song, and it's proof that you can write a commercial sounding punk tune that isn't remotely commercial. The instrumental Flossing a Dead Horse and the mildly confusing, yet still decent, Eat The Meek, keep the ska theme running (the latter in particular has a great trumpet solo at the beginning from guitarist/trumpeter El Hefe). 

Yet the album's defining track is probably the hardest to genre-pigeon hole; it's like a strange combination of French rock, punk and ska. It's a cover of Les Champs Elysees and I guarantee you'll never get it out of your head. Fat Mike does a fine job of singing entirely in French, and it's toetappingly catchy.

The Verdict

So Long.....is a great slice of the NOFX sound. It's stonkingly good fun and stonkingly good punk, even if a couple of songs frustratingly end before they've seemingly begun. When the album closes with a hidden track of American shock jock Howard Stern decrying the band, stating, "no talent, that's the name of this band" and declaring that it's "just not rockin'", you're left with the distinct impression that Stern really is a fucking dickhead if he doesn't think that NOFX rock.

My rating: 6.5/10

Standout Tracks

Les Champs Elysees

Monosyllabic Girl

Kill Rock Stars

Album #108: Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else

Cloud Nothings

Here and Nowhere Else (2014)

Cloud Nothings started life as a one man band - specifically, Dylan Baldi, using GarageBand in his parents' basement to record entire songs by himself. Baldi, who was studying saxophone performance at university, used the power of Myspace (remember that? Me neither) to create a number of fake bands to put out his solo musical creations. One of those, Cloud Nothings, attracted some label attention - enough to warrant the release of an EP, and the beginnings of a musical career for Baldi.

Dropping out of university, and recruiting a band to perform the band's material live, Baldi began recording and releasing studio albums, the first two by himself. Starting with the band's third album, Attack on Memory, the live band joined Baldi in the studio. This release, Here and Nowhere Else, was released just twenty days ago. It sees the group veer away from their earlier melodic lo-fi style and adopt something altogether different.

The Album

This is not melodic indie lo-fi as the band's Wiki page claims their previous works were. This, instead, is raucous, raw, loud and abrasive indie/punk, that casts one's musical memory back to the 70s punk sound of bands like The Stooges and The Ramones (indeed, Baldi himself claimed that at least one of the songs on the album was similar in style to English art punk legends Wire). While Baldi is a competent guitarist and songwriter, and his noisy guitar (complemented well by the buzzing bass of TJ Duke) is partly responsible for fuelling those punk comparisons, it's drummer Jayson Gerycz who is the real star on this record; his thunderous, furiously quick tempo beats are frequently punctuated by maniacally frenzied machine gun fills and rolls, and it's his efforts that underpin the punk aesthetic on the record.

In keeping with said punk aesthetic, the album is short - eight tracks, clocking in at just over thirty minutes - and even that is padded out by two longer tracks at the close. The first six tracks are all in the three minute range, and all of them burn with the kind of furious, carefree energy of those early punk artists. Yet there are enough subtle differences in the compositions to at least make each song interesting to listen to. 

Barnstorming opener Now Hear In sets the tone, all abrasive riffs and cymbal-heavy, powerful drumming. Quieter Today adds a slight hook in the chorus to complement the cacophonous indie/punk sound, but it's not until the third track, Psychic Trauma, that the band begin to show an element of nuance. A brooding, slower start suddenly explodes into life, with Gerycz engaging drummer beast mode and signalling the song's thundering ascendancy into full on punk. It's the first time also where producer John Congleton's decision to leave Baldi's vocals lower in the mix, allowing the instrumentation to take prominence, really stands out. The last thirty seconds are an assault on the senses, with all three members producing a caterwaul of noise before the song's end.

Just See Fear is the most evocative of those early Stooges/Ramones recordings, with a straight-ahead, simple riff that drives the song, along with Gerycz's snappy drumwork. Giving Into Seeing straddles the line between indie and punk, dipping a toe over each side of the line throughout. The tom-heavy rhythms are more indie in style while the cheese-grater riffs are pure punk sensibilities. The track, however, is slightly ruined by a whiffy vocal performance and an outro that outstays its welcome. No Thoughts is another example of nuance, with the wall of guitar noise stripped away in the verses to bring the vocals to the forefront, though there's no loss of frenetic energy.

The final two tracks are interesting in that they contrast, in some ways, with the other material. Pattern Walks is a seven minute long punk/indie odyssey, and to the band's credit, there's enough shifts in the song to keep it interesting for the most part. It's the first time on the album where a riff hasn't been massive, raw chords; rather, it's a picked (but still heavily distorted) pattern. There are some clumsy attempts to create shifting contrasts in dynamics, but they're not so much light and shade as they are darkness and slightly lighter darkness. There's even a noise solo which consists of Baldi hacking at his strings like a madman. Sensibly, at the four and a half minute mark, the song changes slightly; there's no let up in tempo or intensity, but there's a change in the chord progression and the arrangement goes from a pared-back basic framework to a massive orchestral feel, thanks to the gradual adding of layers (and the clever use of keyboards as a prominent layer to provide a sweeter contrast to the bitter guitars.) It shows some evidence of a developing ability to create longer compositions, but still needs work.

Closing track I'm Not Part Of Me is, unsurprisingly, the album's primary single. I say 'unsurprisingly' because it's unquestionably the most commercial, 'poppy' track on the album. It combines a melodic, hooky riff with the band's raw, heavy aesthetic, and even the vocals (complete with harmonies) are pleasant and somewhat appealing. The guitars are stripped of most of their venom, especially in the verses. Even when they reappear, they are not as insanely loud as on the other tracks. It is quite a catchy, decent tune however, and to Cloud Nothings' credit, it still sounds like them - there's no 'sellout' of their aesthetic to appeal to a mass market. It's more a lowering of intensity.

The Verdict

It's pleasing that in 2014 there's still room for some roughly recorded, raucous sounding 70s punk inspired indie rock. Here and Nowhere Else might lack the musical intelligence of other, better, post-punk or post-hardcore bands, but it's still a decent listen and a nice alternative to the plethora of jangly softcock indie rock bands that are currently drenching the indie music scene. I look forward to more work from this Cleveland collective.

My rating: *** and a half

Standout Tracks

Psychic Trauma

I'm Not Part Of Me

Now Hear In

Album #101 : Millencolin - Pennybridge Pioneers

Millencolin

Pennybridge Pioneers (2000)

My first exposure to Swedish punk funsters Millencolin came during a fairly typical late teens/early 20s Friday night ritual - copious consumption of beverages at somebody's house (typically a good mate's wetland area, which was resplendent with outdoor covered area). Punk and ska would typically fill the air, and Millencolin's album For Monkeys (not to mention their compilation The Melancholy Collection) would frequently be played. Now modern punk has never really been my thing, but I remember being won over by the highly melodic nature of their music, as well as the sheer catchy fun of it all.

The band have always had a big following in Australia, but with their fourth album, Pennybridge Pioneers, they really hit the big time. Their first album to go gold anywhere, the album established Millencolin as one of the world's most popular punk groups (even if it had taken a deviation from their established skate punk sound to do so.)

The Album

It may not be the frenzied skate punk tinged with hints of 2-Tone ska of their earlier efforts, but what the band have done on Pennybridge Pioneers is replace the frenzy with maturity. A number of the songs are slower and more fleshed out, sonically, and there's even a heartfelt ballad at the end of the album. However, despite these mild changes, the songs are still unmistakably Millencolin, full of the vim and vigour that the group so typically convey in their work.

There's also a refreshing simplicity to the band's sound - there isn't a great reliance on studio trickery or overdubbing instruments (though there are a couple of tracks with some rather prominent multi-tracked harmony backing vocals), it is pretty much as you'd get live. All of the songs (bar one) are driven by powerful, catchy riffs, and there's even some fleeting, simple solos to flesh out a number of the tracks. While that makes it difficult to really deconstruct the songs themselves from a musical point of view, it's also part of the band's charm, and it gives you the sense that Millencolin are about the whole package of music and lyrics together.

Lyrically, the songs on Pennybridge Pioneers deal with a wide array of themes, and in my view it's where the album really shines. There are songs that reflect on the bullshit high school experience of the 'social outcast' (No Cigar, The Ballad), reflective autobiographical songs from chief songwriter Nikola Sarcevic (Devil Me, Right About Now, Highway Donkey), songs about love (Hellman), loss (A Ten) and fear of leaving the familiar (Duckpond)....there's even a song written by Sarcevic about his motorbike (Fox). Impressively, Sarcevic is adept at turning the right phrase to suit the song, whether it's whimsy, humour, tenderness or anger required.

To the band's credit, the music often matches the themes and feelings of the lyrics. Fox uses an uptempo, skippy riff structure to convey a sense of fun and freedom; The Ballad, unsurprisingly, starts off as an acoustically-driven, emotionally evocative song, and this evocative feeling is not lost even when the band kick in fully; and the materialistic Material Boy is accompanied by a carefree skate punk style aesthetic. It's even more evidence that this is where the group's material really showed that growing musical maturity.

The Verdict

I've found it hard to write this review. Pennybridge Pioneers is just such an even and likable album that it's difficult to really break down. Additionally, the sheer fun of Millencolin's sound means that you don't bother thinking too deeply about the songs, you simply enjoy them.

Perhaps that is the biggest praise I can give this album. It's just a whole heap of fun from start to finish. If you don't have Millencolin in your collection, I can thoroughly recommend starting here, then moving backwards (before moving forwards again). They are one punk band that I think everybody can (and should) enjoy.

My rating: ****

Standout Tracks

Tough to choose just three, but I'll go for:

Fox

Devil Me

Penguins and Polarbears

Tomorrow, it's an English guitar pop debut from a band that never hit such lofty heights again (well, they did, albeit briefly, with one song from their sophomore release).

Album #76 : The Saints - (I'm) Stranded

The Saints

(I'm) Stranded (1977)

The Saints are regarded by many as Australia's first proper punk rock band. Formed by Chris Bailey, Ivor Hay and Ed Kuepper, the group rose to prominence well before other, more "well-known" punk groups like The Sex Pistols and The Clash. At the time of their rise, they were faster, louder and more violent than just about any other band in Australia.

Their debut album, (I'm) Stranded, wasn't a massive seller, however as time has passed, it has become known as one of Australia's greatest albums. It would have been remiss of me to ignore this pioneer release in punk rock, so I'm reviewing it for you today.

The Album

Abrasive, raw, edgy, wild; all four are adjectives which sum up this album perfectly. It's a magnificent sample of everything that made punk rock so vital in those early years, exuding a kind of energy and carefree attitude that today's poseur punks rarely achieve even in their dreams. This raw, aggressive sound and style is the album's greatest strength. To non-punk fans or to those who don't usually prefer their music quite so rough, that is also its biggest weakness. (Personally, I loved it - the album's rough as guts production and buzzing guitar sound perfectly encapsulates 70s punk to me.)

The title track opens the album, and it's easy to see why it made such an impact; it really was without peer upon its release. Aggressive guitars, Chris Bailey's trademark half-sing half-yell vocal style, and all the personal fury and anguish you can muster; it's arguably the first truly great punk song. One Way Street is a contender for the album's standout song (yes, it's almost as good as (I'm) Stranded), combining messy, raw punk rock with a somewhat hooky aesthetic. Erotic Neurotic features one of the catchier, cooler buzzsaw riffs on the album, along with a highly noisy guitar solo and some heavily cymbal-accented drumming from Ivor Hay. Kissin' Cousins is also a nifty little track; a punk cover of a song from an Elvis Presley movie, and a pretty good cover to boot.

There are a couple of tracks where the angry, carefree edge is replaced by a slightly slower tone. Messin' With The Kid still has the album's abundant raucous guitar sound, however this time it's playing a slower, bluesy riff, and at almost six minutes, it's the album's longest song. The second half is essentially an extended jam; it adds some diversity to the album, while still being quite a good song. Story of Love, written solely by guitarist Ed Kuepper, is also a departure from the punk style; a more straight-ahead rock tune, with an extended solo in the midsection. With cleaner production and a more careful mix, it would make a great 80s pop/rock tune. For mine it was an unexpected highlight.

There aren't too many disappointing moments; closing track Nights In Venice is one, but only because it's quite....well, boring. It goes on and on, seemingly leading nowhere....until the closing minute or so, when all four members of the band absolutely cut loose on their instruments; the chaos actually draws you back into the song, and prevents it being a total write off. Wild About You wasn't great, more of the same only less interesting, but it does have two wicked guitar breaks from the impressive Kuepper.

The Verdict

Yep, it fully deserves all the far-too-late plaudits it has received. (I'm) Stranded is essential listening for anyone who considers themselves a punk rock fan, because it is so important in the development of the genre; and it's essential listening for anyone who appreciates the lost art of simply recording an album full of music that is loud and angry because it bloody well can be.

My rating: ****

Standout Tracks

(I'm) Stranded

Story of Love

One Way Street

My next album is another highly influential album in its genre (nay, in all music), featuring a 22 minute long title track that revolutionised music as we know it.

Album #34 : Blink-182 - Enema of the State

Blink-182

Enema of the State (1999)

Oh, how I recall the drunken arguments about Blink-182. 

"THEY'RE NOT AS GOOD AS THEY WERE ON DUDE RANCH!" 

"OMG CHESHIRE CAT WAS THE TITS NOW THEY ARE TRIPLE M STAPLES!"

"THEY GOT THIS NEW DRUMMER AND NOW THEY SUCK!"

"EVER SINCE TOM DELONGE STARTED TO SING REGULARLY THEY HAVE BEEN SHIT! HE'S SO WHINEY! SHUT UP DELONGE!"

(The last one was me.)

Dammit (and to a lesser extent, Josie) threw the band into the mainstream spotlight. High airplay and MTV rotation meant the band were suddenly at the forefront of the pop-punk scene. When the time finally came for the group to record their third album, Enema of the State, they had fired their previous drummer and replaced him with Travis Barker. Upon the album's release, fans were given an even more refined pop-punk sound. It was the understandable result of a pop punk band recording with a major release budget and a high-profile producer (punk producer Jerry Finn). 

Is it 'teh shiz' though, or just commercial 'punk' pap? I decided to find out.

The Album

It's unfair to label Enema of the State as a complete departure from the faster, less-refined punk sound of the band's early releases....because it's not. Well, not entirely, anyway. Dig beneath the singles and you'll find several tracks that would not have been out of place on Dude Ranch. In particular, the songs Don't Leave Me, Dumpweed and The Party Song are typical slices of fast-paced melodic punk (speedy drums, fast riffs, urgent vocal delivery), and signal that the group could still turn on the typical punk rock sensibilities when they needed to.

The three singles are the least traditionally punk tunes on the album. Of the three, it's my view that What's My Age Again and Adam's Song are the pick of the litter. The former is a very catchy number about a person who simply refuses to 'grow up', though the song's close is a bit of a protest about always being told to 'act your age'; Mark Hoppus singing, "no one should take themselves so seriously, with many years ahead to fall in line, why would you wish that on me?" The latter is quite an affecting and distinctly un-punk song; a slow tempo, morose guitar motif and lyrics that are extremely evocative of loneliness (Hoppus penned the song reflecting on the solitary feeling he would often have after a tour, as he was the only band member not in a relationship at the time). There's also a sneaky reference to Come As You Are in there. All The Small Things is a pretty large-sounding tune, due to the numerous guitar overdubs, and it's a very basic pop song at its core. You can't deny its hookiness, but compared to its single counterparts, it offers nothing else, really.

In fairness to the band (and those drunken arguments) there are a few things that need to be straightened out. Firstly, say what you like about Travis Barker, there's no doubt the dude is a talented player. He does everything on this album, from typical supersonic punk beats to, on Aliens Exist, shifting seamlessly between rhythms without breaking stride. Secondly, for mine, Hoppus is a far better vocalist than DeLonge, even if he has his own occasional whiny moments (perhaps it's just a prerequisite for pop punk). Thirdly, decrying the group as 'selling out' is grossly unfair. Is it like Cheshire Cat? Probably not, no. But go back and listen to Dude Ranch, and you'll hear the foundations of this more polished pop sound.

It also needs to be said that the group captures the sounds and experiences of adolescence to great effect simply by writing about their own experiences. Lyrically we're not talking masterpiece level stuff; it's more like the American Pie of song lyrics; but coupled with the largely carefree pop-punk sound, it's pretty good stuff.

The Verdict

Enema of the State is alright. Its importance as an album is evident in the sheer number of pop-punk copycats that sprung up after its release. Whether the group's detractors like it or not, this album did more to consolidate Blink-182's place in the music world than any of their previous effort. It's not the best, most vital or emotionally charged punk rock you'll ever hear, and to my mind it doesn't hold a candle to groups like NoFX or Millencolin.

It's still pretty decent though, and worth checking out if you've got a spare half an hour and just want some mindless tunes to listen to for a bit of fun.

My rating: ***

Standout Tracks

Don't Blame Me

Aliens Exist

The Party Song

Tomorrow, we've got heads on sticks, and you've got ventriloquists.

(Yeah, that's a lyrical clue.)

Album #24 : Frenzal Rhomb - Not So Tough Now

Frenzal Rhomb

Not So Tough Now (1996)

I was supposed to be reviewing ska flavour of 2000 Area 7's album Say It To My Face today, but it appears nobody anywhere has the album anywhere on the Internet.

So instead of Australian ska, I'm going to bring you Australian punk rock, in the form of one of this country's finest exponents of the genre, Frenzal Rhomb. Part of what makes Frenzal so damn appealing is that their songs are never long, they're immensely good fun to listen to (and drink to), and while the band is known for possessing a social conscience and strong opinions, their songs rarely bludgeon you over the head with those, preferring to entertain first and foremost. They've also always expressed an irreverent, cheeky sense of humour in their music.

Not So Tough Now was the last album the band released with guitarist Ben Costello, who was replaced by noted JJJ personality Lindsay "The Doctor" McDougall. It's the band's second album and the first one I heard as a wee teenager.

Let's jump into the review and ponder just what I'm going to do about the 36 secret tracks.

The Album

It's flat out, breakneck pace, ballsy riff and machine gun drumming punk rock. There's little more that can be said, really. Most of the songs are rollicking good fun, with a few songs that can serve as big singalongs (Punch In The Face, I'm looking at you especially). There are also hints of the slightly poppier sound that would inhabit future albums when the band's songs became even more singalongy (that is now an adjective.)

Some songs also showcase the band's ability to pen very clever lyrics. Some are a little witty (Jesus and Not Your Thyme), while others are thinly veiled yet quite detailed and venomous attacks on individuals (the frankly excellent Parasite, which has a go at the type of musical scenester seen hanging on the fringes of bands pretending that they're important, the equally awesome Not So Tough Now which shames the sort of lame poseurs who strut around like they're King Dick until something goes wrong for them and album highlight You Are A Knob are all examples of this). There's also some clever lyrics in Wrong Is Right, particularly this verse attacking popular culture and society's lame acceptance of what celebrities tell us:

How will you judge your contribution to this
Foul Oprah religion of sanitised views
And self congratulation
Who will feast on all you sheep

There are also a couple of songs that are a welcome departure from the super-fast punk rock style. Uncle Ken is still super-fast punk rock but less melodic, and more abrasive, than the typical Frenzal tune; the vocals are barked rather than sung and the guitar riff is like a chainsaw. Then there's Not Your Thyme, which owes more to heavy alternative rock; slow in tempo, a heavier, more laid back drum sound and none of the rapid-fire instrumentation that is a trademark of the band.

As for the 36 secret tracks at the end, well Are You Getting It Yet Secret Track delves deeply into the Nietzchean idea of the ubermensch, while The Origins of Secret Track is a sprawling progressive rock epic that has more in common with the groundbreaking work of Frank Zappa. Secret Track The Gospel Version, however, is extremely disappointing as it promises to be gospel, but is in fact a terrible fusion of Kraftwerkian sounds with grindcore.

The Verdict

Not So Tough Now is an album full of two-minute speedy punk songs, with a couple of departures from the template. It remains a fun album to listen to (and drink to), even if it doesn't have the instantly recognisable classics of later albums. It's not a grandiose artistic musical masterpiece, but punk isn't supposed to be.

Worth a listen if you've never heard it, just because it is a lot of fun and doesn't require a great deal of intellectual thought while digesting its contents.

My rating: ***

Standout Tracks

Punch In The Face

You Are A Knob

Parasite

Not So Tough Now

Tomorrow: THE BEATLES!

(It'll be the first of two albums in the Project. One that I consider their best, the other that is probably their most important.)

Album #13 : The Offspring - Smash

The Offspring

Smash (1994)

Alright. Show of hands, ladies and gentlemen. How many of you owned this album when you were younger? How many of you listened to it incessantly? How often would this album form part of the soundtrack of your underage nights on the piss?

You can all put your hands down now.

I remember vividly when Smash came out. I remember hearing Come Out And Play and wanting that dickface who kept saying, "you gotta keep 'em separated" to have his head separated from his neck. I remember the Self Esteem music video, that stupid x-rayed skull singing LALALAAALLALALALAAALALALALALAALAAAAAAA only its jaw wasn't moving in time with the singing and it looked ridiculous. I remember thinking that Self Esteem was a cool song and identifying with its YEAH LOW SELF ESTEEM YOU SUCK message.

Yep, it reminds me of my teenage years alright.

There's always a danger though that when you, years later, revisit some of those entertainment choices of your past, you find they haven't aged well. Man, wasn't Hey Dad a funny show? That Nudge, he sure could eat. Well, no, it was a terribly formulaic and lame comedy that relied on banal character traits for laughs. Wasn't Captain Planet so extravagant with all its big name voice talent and its message for the future? No, actually, it was an ugly as fuck cartoon that chose the very worst and most obvious stereotypes to teach its message (and no, Heart is STILL NOT A POWER. YOU SUCK, MA-TI.)

The purpose of that terribly laboured introduction is this: has Smash aged well?

The answer is......

The Album

After a brief and confusing spoken word intro (like The Offspring's fans were into the consumption of grape-based beverages), we begin what is an enthrallingly heavy take on the Californian punk sound of the 1990s. Make no mistake, Smash is packed with energy; churning, heavy riffs, deep thunderous bass and drums, and the vocals of Dexter Holland. I have always personally preferred the vocal sound on this album to any other - double tracked yet sounding as though Holland was standing ten yards away from the microphone. It allows the vocals to have power without being the dominant component of the music, which is nearly always the guitar.

Examples of this heavy punk sound abound on Smash. Opening track Nitro (Youth Energy) has plenty of it and sets the benchmark for what is to follow. Genocide, Not The One and Smash walk through that door, catchy as fuck and clicking along at a headbopping tempo. For mine, the pick of the wholly uptempo punk tracks on the album is It'll Be A Long Time, not just because the off-kilter guitar rhythm sounds awesome, but also because of the midsection tempo change; a sudden slow tempo is like a kick in the stomach, powerful and effective, before taking you back to Manic Punk Tempo Town.

Come Out And Play is a song I don't need to write much about - everyone knows it already. It's not the best song on this album (I wouldn't even put it in the top three) but it's easy to see why it was a big hit; the Arabian guitar lead is catchy and adds distinctiveness to the song, and it shows the heaviness of the album sound without being offputting. It's good, don't get me wrong, but not great. 

The highlights of the album? Bad Habit reminds me of a movie where there's a stick of dynamite. The fuse is burning ever so slowly towards its final fate...but instead of being extinguished, it ignites the dynamite with a BOOOOM. That's Bad Habit. The hypnotic, repetitive bass line lures you in, along with the vocal, before Holland warns us that he just might snap and BOOOOOM. Off goes the dynamite. It is absolutely manic (appropriate for a song about road rage WITH GUNS) and a cracking song. Self Esteem does deserve its praise and hit status. Whiny lyrics (and I do definitely believe the vocal delivery is different on this song than the others) encapsulate the pathetic nature of the song's narrator. The bass line is again hypnotic, the riffs heavy. If it really is the band's 'signature' song there aren't too many better to have represent them. Gotta Get Away owes more to grunge than punk; a slower tempo married to a bottom-heavy riff channels Nirvana, as do the vocals at times. Nevertheless it is another undoubted highlight because it just sounds so damn good.

As a final note, the album also has a secret track, which is an 'acoustic reprise' of Come Out And Play. While I'm not against secret tracks per se, I don't like it when they're pointless shit, as this one is. 

The Verdict

Y'know what? I don't think Smash sounds particularly dated at all. Listened to objectively, free of emotional attachment, much of it still sounds fresh, vibrant and vital; after all these years it's still a great listen. It's not seeking to make some grandiose statement, it's just good quality heavy Cali-punk. I would go so far to say that it has aged better than some of the band's more laughable followups (Pretty Fly For A White Guy, anyone?)

I'm not going to say that this is their creative peak (some may say that was this album's followup, Ixnay on the Hombre, while others might believe that Na Na Why Don't You Get A Job represents The Offspring's musical Everest). What I will say is that Smash deserved to break the band as a commercial success because it's so easy to listen to. Heavy without being abrasive, catchy without being poppy, Smash is the sound of a band walking the tightrope between little-known FUCK YOU punk and middle of the road pop punk and never once managing to fall off.

So if you're one of those people who had your hands up at the start, and it's been AAAAAAGES since you listened to Smash....give it a spin. Endure the feelings of nostalgia and enjoy feeling like you're a teenager again, wailing about having no self-esteem and agreeing with your mates that 'yeah I totally would have nailed that chick as well'.

My verdict: It's the Transformers Movie - still kickarse after all these years.

Oh I mean *** and a half

Standout Tracks

Bad Habit

Self Esteem

Gotta Get Away

Tomorrow, I travel back to the 1960s for the first time in The LOAD Project to review an album that has received nothing but massive critical praise since its release, yet if you were to read the description of the album's concept, you'd probably rather insert rusted knitting needles into the eye of your cock than listen to the album. 

Still can't be worse than Nickelback though surely?

Album #12 : The Jam - Setting Sons

The Jam

Setting Sons (1979)

The Jam were the biggest band of the British mod revival of the late 1970s. Like many of their punk contemporaries, The Jam were very much concerned with issues of class, social justice and life in a post-Callaghan Thatcherite Britain. Where they differed was their embrace of the mod culture of the 1960s, most notably the look, sound and attitude of The Who. Ripped clothes, piercings and spiky multicoloured mohawks were not for The Jam; no, they preferred smart suits and mod haircuts. However, they were as much a punk band as any other, not in sound but in message.

The Jam consisted of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter extraordinaire (and undisputed idol of Q Magazine) Paul Weller, bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler. All three were key components of the group, with Foxton often providing memorable bass lines and Buckler being a more than capable drummer. But it is Weller, later nicknamed The Modfather, who is the most renowned, and whom has been a stated influence of many more recent British musical superstars.

Setting Sons was the band's fourth album. Apart from containing their first UK Top 10 hit (The Eton Rifles), it also showcases the band's musical ambitiousness. This is the main reason why I chose this work to review; as someone only aware of The Jam's big songs, as well as their big reputation, I wanted to start with an album that covers a multitude of musical ground, as well as one that captures the band at their most comfortable, four albums into their career.

The Album

The opening song, Girl on the Phone, is an occasionally unsettling song about a stalker who seems to know way too much about the song's narrator. The song alternates between several slightly different-sounding sections, while Weller lists the many things that the girl seems to know (everything from what music he likes to the size of his cock). It's a solid opener to the album. Thick as Thieves is a very 70s punk sounding track that has much in common with some early Police tunes. It's driven mainly by Foxton's thundering bass, while the lyrics contain several clever lines with double meanings. Private Hell further demonstrates Foxton's ability to drive a song with his bass; Weller provides a somewhat sad yet bitter set of lyrics about a housewife who is tired, overworked, stressed and bored.

The next song, Little Boy Soldiers, features several distinct movements. Opening with a standard mod rock sound, the song then slows to a largely vocal-driven section before a short yet spiky verse, delivered by Weller with just guitar and vocals. The lyrics are, again, clever, sharp and satirical, as Weller tells the story of the realities (and the myths) of war. It's a brilliant track. Following that we get one of the album's few lower points with Wasteland. It's not necessarily bad, it's just that unlike many of the other tracks on Setting Sons, the music has no real hook. Yet again though we are given another taste of Weller's lyrical genius; the words do such an amazing job of painting a picture of a dilapidated, depressing working class English town.

Things crank back up though with Burning Sky, a really kicking slice of mod rock featuring some punchy instrumentation from all three members. Weller tells another great story of a man meeting an old friend, only to find that the old friend's only concern in life is business, profit, tax and rent, and that having dreams and ideals are a waste of time. The song, told by the friend, extols the man to stop dreaming and become a "greedy bastard" like him. It's the perfect prequel to the next song, Smithers-Jones. Written by Bruce Foxton, it's about a typical working man who works in a typical office and has done the same thing every day for years....except on this day, the man (Smithers-Jones) loses his job. Taken together, the songs give two sides of the same coin - on one hand, the business owner who cares about nothing other than his own selfish ends and needs; while on the other, the working man who suffers, losing his job while the "sun-tanned boss" is "the only one smiling".

Of note about the song Smithers-Jones also is that the whole track is played by a string section. This gives the song a quintessentially English quality, more in keeping with the work of bands like The Beatles or The Kinks. It's a great change of pace.

Saturday's Kids leaves the strings behind and returns to mod/punk. Weller's viciously pointed lyrics about working class teenage Britain leave the listener in no doubt about what he thinks of their lives and their future prospects; he also hints at them simply being products of their parents in what is a first-rate example of generational poverty. Musically, it's a very cool song that owes a lot to their mod idols, The Who; the 'lalala' backing vocals give it a 60s R & B feel. 

That first ever Top 10 hit is next. The Eton Rifles sees Weller in full class warfare mode, penning another biting lyric. The song was based on an altercation between protest marchers and jeering Eton College students. Weller makes some rather sarcastic, snarling observations about the upper-classes ('All that rugby puts hairs on your chest/What chance do you have against a tie and a crest?') that don't just work in the context of the song's immediate meaning, but also have a wider meaning - in class based Britain, the tie and crest of a British public schoolboy opening doors that the plebs would never even know existed. Musically it also snarls, opening with a booming guitar/drum combo before the whole band drive the song with all the power of a nuclear bomb. 

The last song, while perfectly serviceable as a cover, is a little out of place. Heat Wave is a cover of a Motown hit for Martha and the Vandellas. While The Jam's version owes more to a cover done by The Who in the mid 60s, and while their version certainly has a great deal of their trademark punch, thematically it's a song that doesn't quite belong on this album. All of the tracks on Setting Sons deal with themes very close to the heart of punk rockers like Weller...except this one.

The Verdict

Of two things I am absolutely certain. Firstly, The Jam kick arse and I am ashamed of myself that I have never hunted their work down before. Secondly, Paul Weller is one of the most clever lyricists in rock history. Into the thirty-odd minutes of Setting Sons, he (and Foxton) deal with the gamut of human emotion, as well as depicting a bleak yet biting image of everyday British life in the late 1970s. This album is a triumph of songwriting and songcraft, with terrific musicianship (particularly from the excellent Bruce Foxton) to match. It is, however, let down by one or two weaker tracks, and one song that simply has no place here.

In case you can't tell this album really struck a chord with me. I loved it, not just musically but because the lyrics manage to be both clever, yet blunt. This is a prime example of British punk rock, where the music may not have been breakneck speed, but the message was definitively and defiantly counter-culture (yes, DEFIANTLY. Not DEFINITELY. THE BAND IS DEFIANT.)

Not everyone will like this, I'll grant you; some people might find Weller's vocal stylings a bit...well, British. However, if you're looking for a great slice of mod/punk rock that encapsulates working class Britain, this is a great album.

My rating: ****

Standout Tracks

The Eton Rifles

Little Boy Soldiers

Burning Sky

Tomorrow, we go forward to the 1990s and review an album by a punk band that I'm pretty sure every person my age knows. Certainly my bandmates are VERY well versed in it....