Paint It Black

Dan Yemin may not quite be an “elder statesmen” of punk, but his impact on it throughout the past 15 years certainly approaches Mt. Rushmore status. After establishing a melodic edge to the proceedings with Lifetime and Kid Dynamite, Yemin has finally “stepped to the mic’” with Paint It Black. Conveying the intensely personal (try a brush with death) as well as the overtly political (war, chemical dependency and “womb envy”), Yemin and company continue to leave room for the threatening urgency of a beautifully writ “fuck you” song. Drawing on traditionally aggro forebears like Minor Threat, musical innovators like Swiz and the cold-stare lyricism of hip hop, Paint it Black is a mixed-bag success story worthy of its pedigree.