Chris Fallon
09/16/09, 03:47 AM
Teenage Bottlerocket - They Came From the Shadows
Record Label: Fat Wreck
Release Date: September 15, 2009
They say dogs are man's best friend: loyal, dependable, always there for you; like a best friend would, they never let you down. In many ways, Fat Wreck has been a dog to all of us punk rock fans over the past several years. Take a moment to go over the Fat release calendar from the past decade -- do you see many genuine letdowns? The label does a reliable job at signing bands worth knowing, and for Wyoming's Teenage Bottlerocket, it is certainly no different.
Taking a cue in attitude from Descendents, a cue in fashion from the Ramones, and hovering around the style of mid-nineties pop-punk, Teenage Bottlerocket is never going to change the world or drastically transform their easily-identifiable sound; the songs are clean, crisp, short and candidly humorous. On their fourth full-length album, They Came From the Shadows, the band hardly strays from the basic speedy power-chord formula they perfected on 2003's Another Way, 2005's Total or 2008's Warning Device. Call it redundant, but pop-punk without all the shenanigans is a vast achievement in this day and age of fashionistas with autotune.
"Skate or Die" is a tongue-in-cheek anthem that lightly pokes at the old-school SoCal punk lifestyle, and "Bigger Than Kiss" is a snarky tongue-wagging tune that highlights Kody Templeman's penchant for good-natured ribbing ("Detroit couldn't rock itself out of a paper bag" and "We'll live our life in alcoholic bliss when we're bigger than Kiss"). "Todayo" is actually a fairly sweet number, "The Jerk" is vintage Green Day, a story on self-loathing that sadly lacks any Steve Martin shoutouts. "Be With You" is classic Ben Weasel territory, and if "Call in Sick" doesn't wake up the Ferris Bueller inside of you, nothing will.
Coincidentally, what heightens the overall effectiveness of Shadows is that Descendents/ALL member Bill Stevenson produced this record, which captures the band on a high you can feel for all its 32 glorious minutes. Their third recording with the go-to punk producer, the band sounds rejuvenated by the mere fact they are now Fat men.
Don't expect Teenage Bottlerocket to change your life or offer one to exclaim "ALBUM OF THE MILLENNIUM," however if you like your pop-punk drizzled with old-school mechanics and full of blissfully snappy top-tappers... Teenage Bottlerocket will always come when you call.
ALL; Descendents; Ramones; Screeching Weasel; Chixdiggit!; The Mr. T Experience; The Vandals"Bigger Than Kiss," "Todayo" and "Call in Sick"
1. Skate or Die
2. Don't Want To Go
3. Bigger Than Kiss
4. Do What?
5. Not OK
6. Forbidden Planet
7. Call in Sick
8. Fatso Goes Nutzoid
9. Without You
10. Tonguebiter
11. Be With You
12. The Jerk
13. They Came From the Shadows
14. TodayoKody Templeman: guitar/vocals
Ray Carlisle: guitar/vocals
Miguel Chen: bass
Brandon Carlisle: drums
Official Site (http://www.teenagebottlerocket.com) | Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/teenagebottlerocket)Amazon MP3 (http://www.amazon.com/They-Came-From-The-Shadows/dp/B002O8I2EW/ref=mb_oe_o)
Record Label: Fat Wreck
Release Date: September 15, 2009
They say dogs are man's best friend: loyal, dependable, always there for you; like a best friend would, they never let you down. In many ways, Fat Wreck has been a dog to all of us punk rock fans over the past several years. Take a moment to go over the Fat release calendar from the past decade -- do you see many genuine letdowns? The label does a reliable job at signing bands worth knowing, and for Wyoming's Teenage Bottlerocket, it is certainly no different.
Taking a cue in attitude from Descendents, a cue in fashion from the Ramones, and hovering around the style of mid-nineties pop-punk, Teenage Bottlerocket is never going to change the world or drastically transform their easily-identifiable sound; the songs are clean, crisp, short and candidly humorous. On their fourth full-length album, They Came From the Shadows, the band hardly strays from the basic speedy power-chord formula they perfected on 2003's Another Way, 2005's Total or 2008's Warning Device. Call it redundant, but pop-punk without all the shenanigans is a vast achievement in this day and age of fashionistas with autotune.
"Skate or Die" is a tongue-in-cheek anthem that lightly pokes at the old-school SoCal punk lifestyle, and "Bigger Than Kiss" is a snarky tongue-wagging tune that highlights Kody Templeman's penchant for good-natured ribbing ("Detroit couldn't rock itself out of a paper bag" and "We'll live our life in alcoholic bliss when we're bigger than Kiss"). "Todayo" is actually a fairly sweet number, "The Jerk" is vintage Green Day, a story on self-loathing that sadly lacks any Steve Martin shoutouts. "Be With You" is classic Ben Weasel territory, and if "Call in Sick" doesn't wake up the Ferris Bueller inside of you, nothing will.
Coincidentally, what heightens the overall effectiveness of Shadows is that Descendents/ALL member Bill Stevenson produced this record, which captures the band on a high you can feel for all its 32 glorious minutes. Their third recording with the go-to punk producer, the band sounds rejuvenated by the mere fact they are now Fat men.
Don't expect Teenage Bottlerocket to change your life or offer one to exclaim "ALBUM OF THE MILLENNIUM," however if you like your pop-punk drizzled with old-school mechanics and full of blissfully snappy top-tappers... Teenage Bottlerocket will always come when you call.
ALL; Descendents; Ramones; Screeching Weasel; Chixdiggit!; The Mr. T Experience; The Vandals"Bigger Than Kiss," "Todayo" and "Call in Sick"
1. Skate or Die
2. Don't Want To Go
3. Bigger Than Kiss
4. Do What?
5. Not OK
6. Forbidden Planet
7. Call in Sick
8. Fatso Goes Nutzoid
9. Without You
10. Tonguebiter
11. Be With You
12. The Jerk
13. They Came From the Shadows
14. TodayoKody Templeman: guitar/vocals
Ray Carlisle: guitar/vocals
Miguel Chen: bass
Brandon Carlisle: drums
Official Site (http://www.teenagebottlerocket.com) | Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/teenagebottlerocket)Amazon MP3 (http://www.amazon.com/They-Came-From-The-Shadows/dp/B002O8I2EW/ref=mb_oe_o)