Rancid – Rancid (1993)
welcome back to the Skaject folks! this week we’re swinging into a wildly different direction, and taking a look at Rancid’s debut record, Rancid!
our first track here is Adina, a blistering song about disillusionment and the subject of much misfortune. REALLY like Hyena, a track about scavenging and making ends meet. evocative metaphor and a really kickass song. the bass lick leading into Detroit is really really good, but i dont really like the chorus here. Rats In the Hallway is about living in shitty housing and the unjust situations that can put people in, and Another Night is about what happens when you dont even have that kind of shelter. Animosity comments with aggression on feeling the panopticon closing around around you and wanting to lash out. Outta My Mind is a contextually mellower song – i think the vocal style used here is a lil weaker but i do get what it’s going for. Whirlwind discusses a sort of reckoning coming for the status quo. p solid track. really like the instrumental component of Rejected but MAN the chorus here sucks. that husky “reeeeejected” that does that quick repeat just sounds kinda bad. Injury’s a track about a betrayal, an angry shout back. i like this one a fair bit. Climb In (The Bottle) has some killer guitar and uses the shout-singing group vocals to evoke a drinking song about losing yourself to drinking. def one of the songs i liked the best here. Trenches imagines the punk scene in direct opposition to towers of excess and easier pastures – i like this song a lot. Holiday Sunrise sure is a sobering moment, haha. Unwritten Rules closes out the main tracklist with a song about the punk scene. Union Blood is a class solidarity song that kicks ass, and was a hidden track on the record. the final song, Get Out of My Way, is a cover of an Uptones track. pretty solid!
faves – Hyena, Trenches, Union Blood
dislikes – Rejected
yeah feel pretty mixed on this record – i think it’s got some really good moments, and lyrically i think it’s a really cool picture of the punk scene in San Fransisco around this time. its definitely interesting seeing how far they’re pushing themselves from their Operation Ivy days, but some of the songs here really don’t do it for me. an odd package!
Rancid (1993) – 5/10
next week, our record is The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ Don’t Know How to Party!
previous: PIONEERS | next: Don’t Know How to Party
previous Rancid release: Rancid (EP) | next: Radio Radio Radio
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