Today's featured shit

Did Rancid leave and come back, or were they never gone? It’s hard to say. What is easy to say is that the band sounds older, and I don’t mean experienced. I mean tired. The songs are fine, but they don’t have the punch that their older efforts had. In other cases, it’s the same old song with new titles. “Last One to Die” has the same melody as “Salvation.” It’s no surprise that it’s the single.

A few gems do emerge, though. “Disconnected” seems to have drawn on the band’s more energetic days. And “Civilian Ways” is fun, even if it doesn’t sound like them. Maybe they see Green Day do ballads for money and want to do the same thing. Unfortunately, Tim Armstrong’s voice doesn’t lend itself to this style. What you end up with is a lost puppy of a song, whimpering along for more than four minutes. Finding out this song is that long is like when Homer Simpson’s brother Herb finds out that the car Homer designed costs $82,000.

“L.A. River” has the same melody as “This Party Sucks” by The Slickee Boys. I guess the band is too loud. “Lulu” doesn’t really sound like Rancid, either, but it’s a fun little ditty.

Sometimes Rancid pretends to be a ska band, and generally it works fine. “Liberty and Freedom” follows in this tradition. I could listen to this song all day.

Really we should just be happy that Rancid is creating anything new at all.

This album was produced by Johnny Marr. He wrote “Have No Fear” and “The First Time,” and it shouldn’t be a surprise that I like those songs the most. He also did some backing vocals. Remember when Visqueen first started, and people cared because it had Kim Warnick from The Fastbacks in it? Those are the types of coattails perhaps that Haven are aspiring to ride on.

Musically, this is a lot poppier than what many would expect. The sound is very clean. It’s a lot like Stretch Princess, actually, except of course the lead singer is male. Haven’s “Wouldn’t Change a Thing” has the same melody as “Shoes.”

Not all the tracks are winners. “Tell Me” comes off a little strained, but in general, the songs do what they have to do, and the listener is thusly rewarded. For every “Tell Me” there is a “Don’t Say a Word,” which has a nice balance of vocals and strings.

If they’re good enough for Juliana Hatfield (she loves them), then they’re good enough for me. Ladies and gentleman, your Son Volt. This is the stuff that John Cougar Mellencamp wishes he could play but can’t because he needs to support his coke habit. There is a song on here called “Cocaine and Ashes,” though, so who knows.

“Dynamite” is a very comfortable song that you can’t help but get sucked into it. Solid singing and guitar accompaniment make the time go by, even if you’re not from a small town.

For those looking for something a little less alt and a little more country, “Dust of Daylight” should take care of that need. This song should be playing at the Club Cal-Neva in Reno. “Pushed Too Far” also has a bit more twang than the others.

“Sultana” is about the paddlewheeler of the same name that blew up on the Mississippi River. If you’re going to listen to Son Volt, you might as well get a history lesson, because the band itself is quite a history lesson for late-1990s music fans.

This is one of the best albums of 2009 if you’re into female-fronted indie rock. And it’s a complete game effort, unlike these six-inning pansies that dominate major league pitching staffs these days.

“Solitaire” is the first track and reminds me of one of my favorite phrases: Fine, just sit there by yourself and play solitaire. Two can play at that game!

“Something New” starts out with some fun synths and is also a well-put-together rock song. They won’t be able to pull this off on their next album because it will sound unimaginative, but that’s why the first album is so fun for a band. No matter what it is, the band has never done it before.

“Re: Your Letter” makes me smile, or at least the title does, because that’s what some of the best spam uses as a subject line. The song has a lot of the drumming style of “Solitaire,” so that means I like this one too. “Mirror, Mirror” is not an M2M cover. It is however, cleverly crafted and has a cute chorus.

There’s a ton of fun stuff here. I can’t wait for them to tour locally.

It’s an EP. The songs have a lot of energy for the most part, like L7 or Tilt. But the songs are long. They move along just fine, but they are longer than you would expect.

“Frequency” rips along at a good pace. It’s not frenetic; it’s very controlled. But it does what it needs to. “Still Waters” has a movie soundtrack feel to it. You would hear it when the kids missed the last train to the suburbs and are scrambling around trying to figure out how the hell they’re going to get home.

“Can’t Go Home” slows it down. This is the get-the-lighter-out song. It’s fine, but these bands always do slow songs because they feel compelled to. There’s no real point. They rock, which not every band can do, so they really ought to just stick with that. “Wail of the Banshee” speeds it up again, although they sound a little bored here.

“Six Feet Above the Sheets” is the last track and the best. There is actual melody and some real fun guitars. This really makes me want to tear shit up. Me! Really!