Rancid

Rolling Stone (8/31/00, p.76) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...[Their] mix of American thrash minimalism and Brit punk's sound and fury have transcended revivalist mimicry once and for all....a brutally exuberant rock album..." Spin (11/00, p.209) - 8 out of 10 - "...A roots record scouring off any glossy residue left from the Alternative '90s by returning to pure punk..." Entertainment Weekly (9/1/00, p.80) - "...One of the most vital things the punk world has coughed up in years..." - Rating: A- Q (10/00, p.127) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...There's a lot of swearing, a few handsome tunes...the sure knowledge they'd be sensational live and the sheer, unadulterated gratitude for the fact they de-ska'd the entire album..." CMJ (1/08/01, p.19) - Included in CMJ's "Best of the Year" for 2000. CMJ (8/21/00, p.3) - "...Pure, uncut Rancid: stripped-down, violent and vicious....a classic..." Melody Maker (8/8/00, p.48) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...All passion, no fashion, no bandwagon desperation. That's Rancid. And that is true punk rock." NME (Magazine) (8/12/00, p.36) - 6 out of 10 - "...Fast and furious...and now they want to bludgeon with hardcore muscle..."

After several fine, if rather derivative, albums of ska-inflected punk rock, and after years of being criticized for relying unduly on gestures lifted from the Clash, Rancid has come roaring out with the harshest and most consistent album of their career. It wouldn't be entirely accurate to say that they've left their influences behind; rather, they've integrated them more completely and created a sound that is completely satisfying without having to prove anything about its own originality. That sound ends up being something like a cross between the Clash circa 1978 and the hardcore punk of the early-'80s Los Angeles scene. "Rwanda" is a stutter-step anthem of sympathy for a devastated country; "Corruption" has an atonal power-chord progression and headlong tempo that Minor Threat would have killed for; and "Blackhawk Down" is built on a ridiculously catchy descending bassline and a distinctly Oi!-flavored singalong chorus. No ska, no reggae, no dub, just 22 tracks in 38 minutes with barely a pause between songs and high tempos all the way. If you're looking for artistic subtlety, go back to the catalog; if all you need is a half-hour of undiluted adrenaline, you've come to the right place. ~ Rick Anderson