As a Christian Death fan I was hung up on the fact these guys are not a death rock, so I never gave them much of a chance. The San Francisco band is a highly energetic punk band that leans more toward the Mod side of things. This is not a raw-sounding punk album, but one where they clearly spent some time in the studio to get things dialed in. The songs are assembled in a catchy enough fashion. They tend to make fun of society, which I can appreciate. They might have come out of the hard-core scene, but they are no longer a hard-core band, when they are writing songs like "Talkin on the Internet" does it really matter? It is just good music.
"Herbert's On Holiday" is more laid back, in it's new wave-tinged shuffle. The vocals are more crooned than the previous song. There is a ska influenced bounce to "City on Fire". It is moments like these where you have to consider the Clash punk, in order to consider what these guys are doing as punk. I think the attitude the chorus exudes crosses the line into punk. "Better Off This Way" is clearly punk with it's more commanding strut. "Clashing at the Party" is upbeat in a way that finds the groove having more a new wave feel.
"Catch a Hot 1" is a smooth dancey reggae-influenced punk grooving machine. The staccato guitar riff works well, and there are some great guitar tones dialed in on this hot one. "Can I Barrow Your Lighter" works as a song but I feel they have already raised the bar higher for themselves with the first eight songs so it feels more like filler. "Addict" finds the band locked in a more garage rock ramble that is convincing, especially when it comes to the croon of the vocals. I will give this one a 9.5 , it was very enjoyable, these guys are giving a new spin to old sounds, which equates to one of the best punk albums this year.
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