Darren McLeod
07/03/06, 07:33 PM
Good Riddance - My Republic
Record Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Release Date: June 27, 2006
The name Good Riddance is one that carries a formidable amount of weight in the punk rock community. After almost twenty years of existence and a number of successful releases on Fat Wreck Chords, the band has the history to back such a reputation. Of course, this led to My Republic being a very anticipated release, and rightfully so – given the band’s reputation, there’s no reason not to expect a stellar release. So then... why is this release so underwhelming?
It’s not that the album is consistently weak, because that certainly isn’t the case. The band is still playing its usual brand of intelligent punk loaded with melody, but it all seems so… forgettable. There are definite standout tracks, yet it seems that for every two good tracks there are, there’s one that leaves your head the second it ends. A quick example: the disc opens strong with “Out of Mind,” a fast-paced track that seems like it will set the pace for the album, but then stumbles into the None More Black-esque “Texas,” and then the record picks itself up again with the optimistic “Shame,” one of the album’s best tracks.
“Boise” is another highlight of the album, a step outside of the political realm and into more emotional heartfelt territory. It starts out as a straightforward, catchy pop-punk song, yet where it really shines is the outro – in a very Strung Out fashion, the band slows it down and brings in some big vocal harmonies, carried by a rising guitar line as singer Russ Rankin belts out “create a circumstance, will I forsake this chance and take down my time to resign?”
The lyrics are one of the strongest aspects of the album – Rankin has not only a strong voice, but also a knack for penning some brilliant political and personal lyrics, not simply voicing distaste for government, but also looking for the silver lining of these proverbial dark clouds. Whether it one-liners (“that silver spoon is going to fade to rust”), or paragraphs (“but with the gravity of greed in all the lies we intercede, we take the pressure off the seat of those who revel in defeat”), My Republic is full of great lyrics.
It is unfortunate that this steady cycle of strong tracks mixed with poor ones continues through the album’s entirety, and while the lows aren’t necessarily huge drops in quality, the highs aren’t enough to make up for it, either. My Republic seems like a young band struggling to find its footing, rather than a group of seasoned veterans who have been making this music for almost two decades. While the album isn’t terrible by any means, My Republic shows potential to be much more than it is, and ends up, for the most part, simply all too unmemorable.
Record Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Release Date: June 27, 2006
The name Good Riddance is one that carries a formidable amount of weight in the punk rock community. After almost twenty years of existence and a number of successful releases on Fat Wreck Chords, the band has the history to back such a reputation. Of course, this led to My Republic being a very anticipated release, and rightfully so – given the band’s reputation, there’s no reason not to expect a stellar release. So then... why is this release so underwhelming?
It’s not that the album is consistently weak, because that certainly isn’t the case. The band is still playing its usual brand of intelligent punk loaded with melody, but it all seems so… forgettable. There are definite standout tracks, yet it seems that for every two good tracks there are, there’s one that leaves your head the second it ends. A quick example: the disc opens strong with “Out of Mind,” a fast-paced track that seems like it will set the pace for the album, but then stumbles into the None More Black-esque “Texas,” and then the record picks itself up again with the optimistic “Shame,” one of the album’s best tracks.
“Boise” is another highlight of the album, a step outside of the political realm and into more emotional heartfelt territory. It starts out as a straightforward, catchy pop-punk song, yet where it really shines is the outro – in a very Strung Out fashion, the band slows it down and brings in some big vocal harmonies, carried by a rising guitar line as singer Russ Rankin belts out “create a circumstance, will I forsake this chance and take down my time to resign?”
The lyrics are one of the strongest aspects of the album – Rankin has not only a strong voice, but also a knack for penning some brilliant political and personal lyrics, not simply voicing distaste for government, but also looking for the silver lining of these proverbial dark clouds. Whether it one-liners (“that silver spoon is going to fade to rust”), or paragraphs (“but with the gravity of greed in all the lies we intercede, we take the pressure off the seat of those who revel in defeat”), My Republic is full of great lyrics.
It is unfortunate that this steady cycle of strong tracks mixed with poor ones continues through the album’s entirety, and while the lows aren’t necessarily huge drops in quality, the highs aren’t enough to make up for it, either. My Republic seems like a young band struggling to find its footing, rather than a group of seasoned veterans who have been making this music for almost two decades. While the album isn’t terrible by any means, My Republic shows potential to be much more than it is, and ends up, for the most part, simply all too unmemorable.