Rancid - Let the DominoesFall

Mon 15th Jun, 2009 in Music Reviews

The seventh full-length from the East Bay punks Rancid has been a long time in the making. It has been six years since the band released Indestructible and the new album, Let the Dominoes Fall, makes it clear the band are more musically refined than some of their 1990s three-chord punk counterparts. However, old Rancid fans hoping that the band is back on the track after their long hiatus will be disappointed.

There is a lot of ska and reggae influence mixed into the album – especially on Up To No Good, featuring Booker T. Jones on his Hammond B-3 organ. These genres have always part of that Rancid sound thanks to the Operation Ivy days; however they are far more evident on this album than any of their previous efforts. As a whole, it leaves the album sounding a little strained and uninspired to the classic Rancid fan. The days of shredding guitars and punk lyrics are over.

Like many of the punks of the 1990s who remain, the lyrical content has vastly changed. This may be thanks to fact most members, with the exception of Brenden Steineckert, are approaching middle age. Gone are the days of singing about hanging out with Lars down on 6th Street (gone are the days when Lars played a big role in this band at all, seemingly). Most songs are instead centered around of the political and socioeconomic status of the United States. Disconnected, Civilian Ways and Lulu are perfect examples of this. In the end, a lot of the album comes off as tiresome and contrived simply due to the songs’ subject matter.

Vocals change constantly over the record between Freeman, Armstrong and Frederiksen. Lars, however, isn’t included as much on vocals as in previous works. It’s a bit of a disappointment, as Let The Dominoes Fall leaves behind some of the classic Rancid sound that had the three punk rock mainstays riffing together. The album itself attempts to cover the entirety of Rancid’s career across the 19 tracks, and it finds itself hard-pressed in this attempt. From the hard, fast punk from Let’s Go to the melodic punk of And Out Come the Wolves, this album attempts to get there, but for the most part falls down.

Opener East Bay Night gives the listener a strain of hope – is this the album that the guys are going to use to restart their punk careers? While it pays homage to the East Bay Area, it isn’t how you’d expect to kick off a Rancid album. With This Place, you realise that yes, you are listening to Rancid. Ruby Soho may be a lifetime ago, but their ability to write catchy tunes hasn’t diminished.

Unfortunately, the album doesn’t flow; sounding more like a bunch of songs tacked together on a compilation. L.A. River is one song that’s impossible to take seriously, and one hopes that the band themselves are in on the joke. The inclusion of “shimmy, shimmy, shake, shimmy shake, shimmy” is nothing short of hilarious (unless of course the song is a serious new direction for the band, which this reviewer doesn’t even want to contemplate). Even though L.A. River was enough to inspire a song, it wasn’t enough to inspire lyrics to go with it.

This album will no doubt attract new fans to the old band, but it’s not doing much to keep around the old fans. Rancid albums can be growers, but I can’t see this one working its way into my all-time favourites. Maybe if I wake up tomorrow with a sudden urge to listen to uninspired pop-punk, then it may just find itself a home. Until then I am going to put Life Won’t Wait on and play air guitar in my studded vest and ripped jeans.

Thanks to Dkos for his contributions to this review.

Rancid’s Let The Dominoes Fall is out now on Hellcat through Shock Records.