Teenage Bottlerocket
I'm kinda tired of writing movie reviews, so I figured I'd detour a bit and start a second phase of what I hope to make this blog into (stay tuned to see what else I have planned!). Moreover, I'm so damn stoked for the upcoming Teenage Bottlerocket tour that I figure I ought to start with them. In fact, I'm actually planning my vacation to New York a day early just to catch them in Toronto.
If you approach this CD hoping to get straightforward pop-punk, you get exactly what you wished for. No musical experimenting or exploration here folks, just the same old formula we've seen so many times in the past (The Ramones, Screeching Weasel and Mr. T Experience come to mind off hand). Except this time its done expertly well, filled with 3-chord buzzsaw guitars, 'whoa-oh' filled choruses, and snotty and snarky lyrics. Without any worry of over hyping them, this band easily summarizes all things that pop-punk is, and should be. And that's just on my first listen through!
Anyway, right off the bat you can hear the influence from singer Kody Templeman's previous band and (in all honesty) the songs in which he sings could pass as singles off a 'The Lillingtons' CD. However, the shared vocal responsibilities between him and bassist Ray Carlisle give the listener a nice change in pace. Right off the bat we are exposed to their difference in style with the first two songs on the CD (Bottlerocket and In the Basement) showing us just what this band is made of. With hooks as catchy as the flu a lot of these songs will burn themselves into your head, and even without the CD on my iPod I found myself humming songs like 'Anna's Song' on the way to the office overtop of whatever it was I was listening to. Certainly we're not embarking on MENSA territory here in terms of lyrics. Songs like 'Totally Stupid' and 'In the Nuthouse' talk about boredom and wasting time. In fact, the song 'She's not the One' is able to repeat the exact same line for three-quarters of the song. Amazingly however, songs like these are a testament to their skill and what they lack in lyrical originality, as they make up with tight songwriting and raw head-bopping catchiness. Most band's aren't able to make songs even half as good as these guys, and heck, Bottlerocket can do it with just four words. And without question the chorus for 'Pacemaker' is possibly the best of the year (yes I'm already calling it).
The pacing of the CD flows well and I can easily listen to it top to bottom without skipping a track, but it clocks in a bit short. Often when I leave it on while I'm working I'll go grab a drink and come back to find it already finished, but overall its just what I needed for the summer - an uplifting, easy to digest CD that sucks you in and keeps you listening and smiling for weeks. And in all honesty, who comes to pop-punk CD looking for anything more than that?
And with that in mind, if you live on the east coast be sure to check them out on their upcoming tour. You won't be wasting your money.
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