There are so many clichés when it comes to punk-rock. – œPunk rock royalty’, – œcornerstones of – œ90s punk’, – œforefathers of punk’ instantly come to mind. But when it comes to California-born punk-rockers Rancid, these descriptions are not worthy. No clichés are. From Epitaph headquarters in Los Angeles, bassist Matt Freeman and drummer Branden Steineckert come on the line and this old punk was almost too nervous to speak.

Everything on the Rancid front has been relatively quiet since the release of Indestructible in 2003, but this is all about to change. Let Dominoes Fall is the seventh full-length album from the punks, who have teamed up again with their long-time friend Brett Gurewitz. “We worked really hard on this record to make it special. As I think we like to do with any records we make,” Branden explains.

This is the first time that a Rancid album will be accompanied by acoustic tracks. In discussing their decision to do this, Branden describes the song-writing process for the band. “When we write the record, it all pretty much starts on acoustic. Us all sitting in a circle on acoustic guitars, with me maybe on a practice pad or playing on my lap. That is how these songs are formed and written initially. Once we’ve got something going we’ll get on our electric stuff and the drums and start laying it down. We decided to bring this full circle and record those acoustic versions.”

What makes these acoustics versions so different? “Some of it is acoustic renditions where we bring in mandolins, slide guitars and piano and all different kinds of instruments and friends of ours,” Branden explains. “We’ve got Matt Hensley from Flogging Molly playing accordion on some songs and Frenchie on harmonica. It is the stuff like that we are excited about because no one has ever heard Rancid do it before; yet it is completely natural for us because that is how our songs are written.”

Apart from having friends come in to help out on the record, one notable inclusion is Booker T. Jones, playing organ on one track. This collaboration eventuated even to the surprise of the band members.

“It was pretty cool. We didn’t see it coming. We recorded four more songs and one of them was a ska track and we wanted to put organ on it. We were in Los Angeles doing it and Vic Ruggiero of The Slackers, who works on all the Rancid albums, was out on tour in New York or Europe or somewhere. So the sister label with Epitaph, ANTI-I, was putting out a Booker T. record, so he was in town working on it. So we thought, let’s call him. He said, – œYeah, sure’. Then he came over and nailed it.”

Working with Booker was a big event for Rancid. “It was awesome. He is royalty here. It is a big deal. We found this out a week before we started in the studio and when we get there people are there literally sweeping the floors, getting the organ set-up. The studio manager, who has seen everyone from Tom Petty to Nirvana, was really excited. It was really great and we were really privileged to have him play on our record.”

In 2006, original drummer Brett Reed left the band. This left Rancid with a huge problem. Several tours had been booked and paid for and had to happen. Rancid needed a drummer. Matt tells the story of how Branden came to be the fourth member.

“We knew Branden had been let go by his other band and had been out of it for a couple of months. We knew him from touring with his old band The Used. So we called him up and asked if he wanted to be in Rancid. We scheduled one practice to make sure he could do it and, you know, he did it. We gave him like 35 songs to learn.”

Branden clarifies. “Initially they gave me 25 songs to learn; then after that they gave me another 13.”

“To his credit, I think he actually thinks we were going to go through everyone of those songs but we had no intention of doing that,” Matt laughs. “In Rancid we really organise things but we really didn’t have a plan B. If he had come in there and had gained 200 pounds and couldn’t fucking play, we didn’t know what were going to do. We were like, of course it will work out, why wouldn’t it work out?”

It is clearly evident that they got lucky with their new drummer, but as for how this will affect the Rancid sound, Matt assures me, “As far as the new record goes, it is definitely Rancid and it is definitely Branden playing with Rancid. He is a part of Rancid now.”

With the exception of Lars Frederiksen, who joined the band in 1993, the line-up has been the same since the band’s formation in 1991. Branden describes what it is like being the new kid in a band which had remained the same for 15 years.

“There have been so many mixed emotions. The first little while was just surreal. Anybody that knows me knows that Rancid has been one of my top favourite bands since forever. It has almost been a detachment thing. There is the Rancid that I am a super fan of and still to this day have posters in my house that I am not going to take down. That is my roots and that is what I was listening to when I was learning to play.

“Now there is the Rancid that is the band I am in. This is my band, these are my best friends, and this is what I do. It almost feels like two different bands in a way. I still have to pinch myself every now and then. Lars was the new guy up until I joined and I think I’ll always be the new guy, but I don’t feel that way because we’ve played so many shows together.”

As for touring, Matt explains how time and family affect their ability to go on the road. “When we were doing Out Come the Wolves or Let’s Go or Life Won’t Wait, we would go out and go away for a year. I think for Life Won’t Wait I had a cellphone, but this was pre-technology. It was almost like being a sailor – - œJust going, see you next year!’ We would just go out and disappear. Now with kids and birthdays it is different and they have to be factored in.”

As for whether there is an Australian tour on the horizon, there were no definite answers – even after a solid few minutes of questioning. It would appear that at the moment the 11-year break from Australian shores is set to continue for a little bit longer.

You can be sure that when they finally do get down under it is going to be one hell of an event. Playing on average a 90-minute set with a huge back catalogue can get monotonous, but not for Rancid.

Branden describes their live set. “We play 30, sometimes 32 songs every night. But it is 32 different songs every night. As much as it is stressful, it’s good, ‘cause it keeps you on your toes. It pushes me, it pushes everyone in the band; it keeps us focused. Kids aren’t hearing a stale set that we’ve played every night and we’re going through the motions again. They’re getting a concentrated, full on, full-hearted, 100% set every night.”

Let the Dominoes Fall is released 29 May on Hellcat Records through Shock. To celebrate the return of Rancid, FasterLouder is counting down The Top 12 So-Cal Punk Albums of the 90s.