Tim Armstrong has undoubtedly had one of the worst years of his life. Not only did he lose close friend Joe Strummer, but he also had a very public split with his wife. Throughout this ordeal, he has had one thing to fall back on, the music he makes with his “familyâ€. ‘Indestructible’ is the sixth album by veteran punks Rancid, and comes wrapped with bags of emotion, and a hint of controversy.
Lets get a couple of things out of the way first shall we? Yes, this album is on Warner, but no, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the band have turned their back on their principles. The reasons for the album being released through Warner are still not clear, and I am not going to spend this review speculating about it. If you want to do that, you may want to stop reading now, this review is about the music. Throughout a decade of making music Rancid have always inspired their listeners with their punk rock poetry, and guess what, they still do. I really do not care what label they are or are not on, as a band they have had more of an influence on how I view punk rock than any other in this generation.
So, back to the music then. If you were expecting a repeat of 2000’s brutal, and very welcome, self-tilted effort, then you are in for a surprise, Rancid have come full circle. ‘Indestructible’ is closer in the style and the mix of the songs to 95’s classic ‘…And Out Come The Wolves’. However, there is also something else to this album, something that hasn’t been seen to the same degree before. Tim split from Brody halfway through the recording of this album, and subsequently went away and wrote seven new songs. The result is the most personal and intimate Rancid album to date. ‘Indestructible’ is an album about life, loss, friendship, politics and the enduring bond between the band members.
Kicking of with the title track, Rancid set the tone for the album instantly with a fast, memorable track about living forever through music. ‘Red Hot Moon’ sees a welcome return of the band’s patented ska sound in a downbeat, yet very Rancid sounding song. In fact the band manage to use the more downbeat songs to great effect on this album. ‘Arrested in Shanghai’ with it’s revealing lyrics and in particular ‘Tropical London’, Tim’s response to rejection, showcase this facet of the band’s song writing to great effect. At the other end of the scale, the band can still produce some of the best basic punk rock songs around. The Lars fronted homage to ‘David Courtney’ and the politically charged ‘Ivory Coast’ show the band maintain their ability to combine speed, passion and musicianship to great effect. When you have Matt Freeman and Brett Reed in your band you are always going to have an extra dimension.
It is not all good news though. New single ‘Fall Back Down’, despite its sentiment, is very weak and well below average for a band of Rancid‘s capabilities. Likewise, the touring song ‘Memphis’ sounds like a cast off from one of Tim’s Transplants writing sessions. However, that is it as far as the bad news goes. In the main this is an album full of great songs. Particular standouts being ‘Out Of Control’, ‘Ghost band’, ‘Born Frustrated’ and the rousing anti-violence song ‘Spirit of 87′.
It pleases me greatly to say reports of Rancid‘s demise have proven to be vastly premature. With ‘Indestructible’ they have shown that they are still one of the best and one of the most natural punk bands on the planet. By taking aspects from all their albums, they have produced a release that is melodic, savage and heart warming in equal parts. A more realistic picture of life you will not hear, and a more honest album you will not find this year.
Mark