Lifetime
Lifetime
Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen
A couple of years ago, 30 Seconds To Mars’ bassist Matt Wachter was telling me how pscyhed he was that one of his favorite bands had played a reunion show. The band was Lifetime, and I had never heard of them.
Fast forward to 2007 and the mystery band is releasing one of the most anticipated punk albums of the year. And guess what? It’s pretty damn good!
So who the hell is this band and why is their new self-titled Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen release such a big deal? Well, the melodic hardcore Jersey band formed in 1990, released a handful of albums before splitting up in 1997 to get regular jobs and put the band behind them. Somehow the band became a bit of a cult favorite within their punk circle, and calls for a reunion came a callin’. In 2005 they caved in to the requests and signed on to play NJ’s HellFest… which ended up being abruptly cancelled. Having made the decision to play together again, the band went ahead and did a few shows on the East coast then consummated the marriage by signing to Decaydance. The Tampa, Florida label is owned by Fall Out “pretty” Boy’s Pete Wentz, who was a big fan of the band.
Now the disc is coming out, albeit with ties to emo’s princes, and all ears are poised to hear what the fuss has been about. Which brings us back to the question at hand, is it any good?
It is… if you want your fix of California punk rock that’s been drenched in Jersey’s emo pool, you have found your new favorite band. The self-titled comeback disc is short but explosive in a Face To Face/Rancid sort of way with three-minute bursts of aggression where introspective lyrics are overlaid with dancable mosh beats. “Haircuts & T-Shirts” is a damn catchy tune, I must admit.
Lifetime: http://www.lifetimenj.com
