SOCIAL DISTORTION are often referred to as punk rock but there’s little about their music that fits into that genre these days. The following effort is no different. It’s been compared by lead vocalist, Mike Ness, as having elements of Springsteen, Cash and Dylan and you can see where he’s going with this. However for the more youthful of us, comparisons to The Gaslight Anthem and The Hold Steady are noticeable. ‘Bakersfield’ would definitely not be out of place on a record from the latter and is one of the album’s best.
The start of which is very strong, beginning with an instrumental before going nicely into ‘California (Hustle and Flow)’ which, with the female backing vocals, has a pleasant hint of Gospel about it. Throughout the album there are also plenty of the trademark Country and Blues elements that fans of SxDx have come to expect with ‘Machine Gun Blues’ and ‘Gimme The Sweet and Lowdown’ really standing oout.
The only criticism that fans are likely to associate with this is the over produced sound, with it being more crisp and precise than expected. The ability of Ness to tell a story though is so refreshing to hear and really helps the album stand out. All in all this is an easy to listen to, charming record which will please many fans, us included.
JAMIE HIND