JiggyJay's Full Review: Indestructable [PA] by Rancid
I’ve been a fan of Rancid for almost a year…okay, well not a “fan”, but I had previously listened to some of their songs and loved them all. It wasn’t until I tried their second self titled album, Rancid 2000 (as it’s popularly named) that I really understood their sound and grew to love it. Well, after loving the previously mentioned CD so much, I thought I should probably give some of their other records a try so there I was at Best Buy looking through Rancid’s selection when I came across Indestructible. From members of the site as well as some of my friends, I heard it was one of their weakest, but since …And Out Come The Wolves wasn’t at the store (which I really want to buy and has been claimed to be their finest record) I gave Indestructible a try. Hey, it’s happened a couple times before where I tried a band’s most recent (weak) album and used it as a stepping-stone to buy their other better albums. It happened with NOFX’s Pump Up The Valuum as well as AFI’s Sing The Sorrow. Well, surprisingly Indestructible holds its own against Rancid’s discography and is a welcome hit that I’m sure I will be listening to until their next CD comes out.
Previously in Operation Ivy (perhaps one of the greatest punk bands of all time), Mark Freeman (bass) and Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar) collaborated with Lars Fredrickson (guitar, vocals) and Brett Reed (drums) to start Rancid in the early 90s. After going on to do a side project (The Transplants) and with Lars done with a side project of his own (Lars Fredrickson and The Bastards), the group decided to make a follow up CD to Rancid 2000 that they had high hopes for making them believe it would be the next Wolves record. Well, although this isn’t the next Wolves record (I haven’t even heard this remarkable disc yet!), Indestructible isn’t as bad as people say it is and really is a different effort from the group that some people may enjoy or (and it has been proven) some people might not enjoy. Indestructible marks the album where Rancid sells out, which is something that’s really sad to see. There’s some energy in Indestructible, as well as a lot of good lyrics, but the fusion and punk plasma they had in Rancid 2000 as well as some songs off of Life Won’t Wait is gone. It has vanished and been replaced with poppy choruses, poppy guitar solos, and has gone all radio friendly up in this piece.
Now, if it sounds like I’m dissing Indestructible then I’m sorry because I actually enjoy listening to this album a lot. The songs are slower (which may put some people off) and a whole lot more melodic (but not in an emo kind of way) and I just love them! Indestructible is the type of CD where I could turn it on and let all of the CD’s tracks flow without skipping any. Now, I hate to disagree with my pal, but in his awesome review of Indestructible (check it out) he said, “Indestructible lacks focus, cohesion, and more than anything, it lacks any track that even remotely stands out. In short, the album doesn’t grab you, and most of it sounds an awful lot alike”. Little Matthew proved a good point, but once I started listening to the CD I saw some errors in his ways. I found a lot of variety in the record. With songs like Fall Back Down and Arrested In Shanghai, which are relatively slower than other songs on the CD mixed with faster paced tracks like David Courtney and Travis Bickle the variety is pretty high. But I have to admit that there are a lot of slower paced songs than fast ones. Also, they tried a lot of new techniques like the spider web of playing guitar in the solo in Indestructible as well as the overhaul of sound in Arrested In Shanghai, which doesn’t sound like anything Rancid’s done before. The band has also added a crap load of keyboard melodies everywhere and I have to admit that it’s extremely overwhelming at first, but you get used to it and kind of like it later on.
Tim Armstrong is the frontman and lead guitarist in Rancid and is a very good musician on his own accord. Although a lot of the guitar solos he plays on Indestructible are slower than normal and very edgy, he still maintains supreme. One of the first things that actually turned me off about Rancid was Armstrong’s voice, which is really irritating at first listen, but now that I’ve grown accustomed to it I’ve found that he has one of the best in the whole punk genre. Mark Freeman is just insane on bass and has been added to my list of favorites for his completely awesome riffs and hooks he comes up with that upstage the guitars (which is hard to do) in every way. Although he has no truly remarkable bass moments, he does showcase some nifty solos in some songs on Indestructible that really show his superiority on the four string. As for Brett Reed, I am sort of disappointed in his work on this CD. Sure, he has some notably good stuff in some songs, but with his mediocre floggings in songs like Arrested In Shanghai as well as in Born Frustrated is just unchallenging and sort of lazy in way, but then again he’s probably still having the whiplash that he had while he was doing hardcore drumming in Rancid 2000. As for Lars Fredrickson, he has more vocal time along with guitar solos in Indestructible, which is a good thing. I’ve always been a fan of his voice (especially after hearing what he did with his side project) so it was good to spot his awesome work on songs like Out Of Control and David Courtney. As for his guitar work, he creates some more masterpieces that are really catchy yet melodic and punk.
As for my favorite tracks, one would have to be David Courtney, which is probably the hardest song on the CD. Fredrickson is really bringing hardcore vocals to the record and the listener is really rewarded with the great guitar and bass interplay as well as the pretty melodic (yet anthem-like). The chorus is pretty well done even if it is a bit uninspired and bland. It’s a catchy song, but the album doesn’t even begin to turn the heat up until Arrested In Shanghai, which sports some really good reggae tunes with a pleasant drumbeat, keyboard melodies, and delightful little guitar picking. The overall harmony of the song is superior to anything I’ve heard this year so far. The lyrics are also pretty sweet and sincere with Armstrong singing about rising up and going to protests. The song pretty much stays slow, but gets a little faster during the chorus and is probably the weirdest song I’ve ever heard and is so different from Rancid’s musical style. Now Travis Bickle is where all the energy is. This song has so much energy that it’s hardly contained. The repeating guitar and bass overhaul of hooks really does the song justice while the drums are doing their own thing, but the doesn’t truly get good until the chorus, which just explodes with velocity. The guitar solo close to the end of the song also is a highlight that definitely has to be heard in order to be believed. Otherside is where Rancid’s familiar style comes in with aggressive lyrics and furious guitars and bass. The drums are also going wild. The lyrics actually mean something and are very personal to the band. What’s even cooler is how Armstrong and Fredrickson are simultaneously screaming the lyrics in a passionate way talking about how they’ll see one of their friends (whose Lars’ brother who died in 2001) on the other side. The whole song is beautiful and a perfect closer to the CD, but it ends too abrupt and just doesn’t hold that raw personal intensity for too long.
Indestructible (Lyrical Sampler)
I’m dancing to a whole new different drummer
And I’ll keep listening to the great Joe Strummer
Cause through our music we can live forever
Otherside (Lyrical Sampler)
I’ll never forget and I’ll always be your friend
Well, I’ll see you on the Otherside
In conclusion, I would just like to say that even if the album is a little slower and more poppy than the stuff that Rancid has put out before, it is still listenable and enjoyable. I am as punk as they come and I loved Indestructible so don’t you think you should give it a try? Rancid became so popular from being such a good band so even if they sold out a little bit; you’re just going to give up? Rise up and get Indestructible and give it the attention it rightfully deserves. Sure, it isn’t the best record of 2003, but it sure is up there. With Indestructible, I bought it and listened to it, but didn’t like it—until it grew on me. Maybe it needs to grow on you. Have you heard to awesome two singles from Indestructible, Fall Back Down and Red Hot Moon? Well, if you liked what you heard there, you will without a doubt love Indestructible as I have. Rancid’s sound is indestructible and even if it has changed, my opinion towards them has not. I love you Rancid!
01. Indestructible
02. Fall Back Down
03. Red Hot Moon
04. David Courtney
05. Start Now
06. Out Of Control
07. Django
08. Arrested In Shanghai
09. Travis Bickle
10. Memphis
11. Spirit of 㣻
12. Ghost Band
13. Tropical London
14. Roadblock
15. Born Frustrated
16. Back Up Against The Wall
17. Ivory Coast
18. Stand Your Ground
19. Otherside
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