Teenage Bottlerocket

Freak Out!

Written by: PP on 13/07/2012 21:26:07

Fans of no-frills pop punk ahoy, Teenage Bottlerocket are back with their latest album "Freak Out!", which is basically a continuation of "They Came From The Shadows" from three years ago with only minor cosmetic changes since then, such as changing the colour and the title on their artwork. So if you've liked Bottlerocket since the days of the basement, there's virtually zero chance you won't also enjoy "Freak Out!", because the formula stays unchanged once again. It is what it is: a simplistic, chord based, high-speed pop punk album that doesn't want to change the world or even make an impact on its surroundings. It's simply a statement of "we're here to have fun, nothing more, nothing less", which is basically the same formula as Municipal Waste use in crossover thrash to similar success.

The minor cosmetic changes I mentioned, yeah, they're so insignificant that only long time Bottlerocket fans will be able to tell the difference. Songs like "Headbanger" and "Cruising For Chicks" are a little darker and more aggressive in their stance than on "...Shadows", but only a little. Otherwise they still trust in the same high-octane chords and infectious choruses characterized by their silly (although still clever) lyrics. The best songs on the record you've already heard on the "Mutilate Me" EP last year: "Punk Rock House Of Horror" and "Mutilate Me" are some of the catchiest songs on this record. "Headbanger", with its retarded lyrics about a metalhead obtaining a concussion through headbanging, is up there too.

So all is in order in the Bottlerocket land, then? Not quite. Given how ultra simplified their take on pop punk is, some change and variation wouldn't hurt. What made "They Came From The Shadows", "Warning Device" and "Total" solid albums was their novelty in a time where all other pop punk bands seemed to either go for the gravelly Midwestern sound or towards polished and superfluous direction. Today there are plenty of no-frills bands to choose from, so Teenage Bottlerocket's trademark sound is at the verge of sounding saturated and a little bit uninspired. That being said, I'm sure the band doesn't give a flying fuck about such meager concerns, and neither do their fans. "Freak Out!" is an album that'll uphold the status quo of Bottlerocket as one of the best no-frills bands around, but won't necessarily help them grow at such exponential rate anymore.

7

Download: Mutilate Me, Punk House Of Horror, Headbanger
For the fans of: Screeching Weasel, The Copyrights, The Dopamines, Frenzal Rhomb, The Hextalls
Listen: Facebook

Release date 03.07.2012
Fat Wreck Chords


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