Rancid
Life Won’t Wait
Epitaph
Rancid’s latest is a sprawling 64-minute, 22-song work. If the lads are sick of Clash comparisons, this album won’t make them feel any better, it’s rather their Sandinista! There are rockers like album opener “Bloodclot” (“I’m a bad motherfucker… with guns blazing”), “Leicester Square,” and “The Wolf.” But stylistically the album is just so broad I’m still taking it all in, there’s the hip-hoppy experi-dub of “Crane Fist,” and lots of midtempo-ska influenced stuff, with horn sections and Farfisas all over the place. Even thoughtful almost-ballads like “Hoover Street” (“it’s a glass-pipe murder… “) and the anthemic pop of “Who Would’ve Thought.” Oh yeah, lotsa cameos from all your ska and punk stars: Buju Banton, Lynval Golding, Dicky Barrett, even some “Hey-Ho’s” from Marky Ramone! Plus quotes from Bakunin! While not as immediately accessible as … Wolves, this is a great album, and in many ways a step forward. It rocks, but it also rolls. Get it. Epitaph Records, 2789 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90026
