Reviews
Left Alone
Dead American Radio
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Add to del.ico.us.Review Date: 2006-09-24
This band is on Hellcat Records. For those of you that don't know, that’s Tim Armstrong’s label and for the most part, I pretty much love everything that this record label produces. I don't know why, but the bands that land deals with Hellcat are always top shelf, in my opinion. I can usually tell anyone that likes punk that they will like this label, but if you like punk you probably don’t need to be told that.
Left Alone sounds something like older Rancid to me -- maybe not as hardcore but they are certainly alike in musical sound and vocals. The band's vocals are done by Rick, who also is the bassist, which is an odd thing if you ask me. It's not too often that the bassist is the lead vocalist as well. One unique element of Left Alone is that they rock the saxophone, which brings that ska sound into play. One last quirk of this saga is that it is sung in two languages – mostly in English, but a few songs in Spanish. However, the members of the band are of Spanish descent, so that has a lot to do with their language choice.
I'm not kidding around: this is a fucking cool album, right from the time it gets going on opening track "The Sinner." This song starts with a bit of talking in the background that sounds like a radio, then the drummer starts the traditional banging of his drumsticks together four times before the band kicks it into high gear. After a few times through the rotation, the lead singer Elvis starts in. His voice is awesome; it isn't as coarse or unpleasant as Tim Armstrong’s, but it’s on its way if he parties as hard as Tim has all these years. I mean, to be honest his voice is pretty good on the songs he doesn't try to sing like this, but I still fully enjoy this type of punk vocal. It’s classic, and a sweet way to get you going on this album.
Speak of the devil -- Tim Armstrong guests on the second track, "City To City." This song is like a mirror image to what Rancid might produce, and not just because Armstrong is in it (although Tim Armstrong is wicked and should be on one track for every band that makes it onto the Hellcat label). Armstrong has a verse in the song; I don't know if he does anything but add lyrics to the song, but that’s okay. He probably produced it, but if he didn't, just his presence will do. Left Alone has some wicked musicians, I think that’s what I am noticing. This really swerves in and out of a variety of punk sounds.
"La Pregunta" is in Spanish and features someone named Patricia Day. I don't know what the title means in English; because I'm ignorant, I will just assume this is a song about pregnancy. I think that’s mildly hilarious that they would write a song about this and then put it in Spanish for whatever reason, but this is one of the better songs on the disc. I don’t know what the hell they are saying, but does it matter? Not this time. It accomplishes what it needs to with people who don't understand Spanish, so really I think it does exactly what it set out to do, which is be a kickass ska song.
One of my favourite tracks is the last one, "I Hate Emo." Hey, so do I, guys! Maybe we can be friends? The important thing is that everyone understands that emo is horrible. The lyrics rotate through a small selection, but the simplicity is how simple it is to hate emo. Three lyrics stuck with me during this song: “I hate emo,” “They look like girls,” and “And smell like ca-ca.” The song is only about a minute and a half long and has a bit of a country twang to it.
"Dead American Radio," is a song that talks about how lots of people in the music industry are just into making money; they discuss hatred for top 100 lists and all the people who sell out. This is all very punk rock, but it should be pointed out that they are in the process of selling out. Anyway, I agree with them, kind of. My problem is that I have a job that subjects me to being in a car sporadically throughout the day, and when I'm in the car I don't have CDs so the radio is the only escape from silence. Unfortunately, the radio stinks, especially London radio. "Dead American Radio" even has a sweet musical component -- the guitar on this track is badass. I think it has something to do with the subject matter, which is a bit more hostile then some of the other stuff on the album.
"New York City" is the eighth track, and my favourite. What I like about this one is the complete package; it’s pretty much a perfect punk song. The chorus has a catchiness to it that makes me crave it. The vocals by Elvis on this one are Armstrong-esqe, which is okay by me since -- as I mentioned before -- I really like that style of punk vocal. The drums in this track stand out a tonne. I think that the way they have been using it in this song is predominantly to keep the pace, but I just happen to think that the beat they’re repeating is sicke. The guitar is amazing; I love this riff, it was playing in my head all yesterday -- which made me want to smash something. This song is just good all over, and is my highest recommendation from the album.
They keep singing about a waste of time on the chorus of “4 Weeks.” It’s stretched out a lot, but it’s the catchiest of the choruses on the album. Also cool is the use of the keyboards in the background music, which makes for a sweet effect to the overall song. One thing that you really need to know is that if you like this, Left Alone has a large back catalogue that you can research and hear.
Tracks to Steal: Everything mentioned, but also "No One Likes Us," "Waiting For You," "Done Wrong," "Drunk Again," "Justino"
Score: 9.2
This is a pretty phenomenal punk album. If you have ever liked a Rancid album, you will definitely like this album. I suggest you at least download it and sample it before you make a rash decision. This is my second favourite punk album of the year as of right now; Latterman is the only one that scored higher, and that was marginal.
- Brandon