“Stay Rad”
Teenage Bottlerocket
Fat Wreck Chords
Producer: Andrew Berlin
Tracks: 14
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Formed in Wyoming in 2000, Teenage Bottlerocket were rad when they released their debut album, “Another Way”, in 2003 and almost two decades – as the title of this eighth studio album suggests – they remain just as rad. Following on from 2017’s “Stealing The Covers” these 14 short, snappy and stylish punk songs are centered around the songwriting chops of guitarists/vocalists Ray Carlisle and Kody Templeman and overflow with Teenage Bottlerocket’s typical mix of humor and poignancy, silliness and melancholy. “Stay Rad” is being released via Fat Wreck Chords and was produced by Andrew Berlin and is the first album of original material that the band – completed with bassist Miguel Chen and drummer Darren Chewka following the death of former drummer and Ray’s twin brother Brandon in 2015.
When you think of Wyoming you don’t often think of punk rock however since the early 2000’s Teenage Bottlerocket have been trying their darnedest to change that. The band’s latest release “Stay Rad” is a fast past 14 track rocker reminiscent of early Ramones albums. Songs like the albums opener “You Don’t Get the Joke” and “Anti-Social Media” hit society right between the eyes with their tongue and cheek lyrics about the need to fit in and social media addiction while tracks like “Everything to Me” and “Little Kid” go deeper emotionally discussing the bond between father and son and the loss of a loved one. While the subject matter varies in seriousness one thing that is consistent is the band’s blistering pace. The albums fourteen tracks clock in at just over thirty minutes wasting no time with drawn out interludes or repetitiveness
From beginning to end “Stay Rad” offers listeners a high energy, fast paced album that is really enjoyable. Even the albums more serious moments are set to catchy beats which do a great job balancing things out while not taking away from the sons meaning. The guys in Teenage Bottlerocket really brought it with their latest offering so do yourself a favor and pickup a copy.
Track Listing:
1.) You Don’t Get the Joke
2.) Death Kart
3.) Everything to Me
4.) I Wanna Be a Dog
5.) Night of Knuckleheads
6.) Creature From the Black Metal Lagoon
7.) Anti-Social media
8.) Wild Hair (Across My Ass)
9.) The First Time That I Did Acid Was The Last Time That I Did Acid
10.) I Want to Kill Clint Carlin
11.) I’ll Kill You Tomorrow
12.) Stupid Song
13.) Little Kid
14.) I Never Knew