The Offspring - Let The Bad Times Roll
Label: Concord Records
Press release: SoCal punk icons The Offspring have announced the release of Let The Bad Times Roll – their tenth studio album and first LP in nearly a decade, following 2012’s Days Go By. Let The Bad Times Roll won’t find the band shying away from topical material – and it certainly won’t find the band abandoning their cheeky, punk-rock roots.
My thoughts: I expected more given the wait between albums and it's not like they had scrapped other albums since Coming For You made it into the tracklist and that song was unveiled in 2015 as being a part of the upcoming album which finally seen light in 2021. Oh and they decided to give us a cover (The Hall Of The Mountain King) and a rework an old song (Gone Away) as part of the 12 tracks. In case you were curious the originals are better. The cheeky cut "We Never Have Sex Anymore" was not fun or funny but the classic punk rock hits like Breaking These Bones and This Is Utopia are worthwhile listens. Overall probably more misses than hits given the filler but we'll see how it ages.
Label: Spinefarm Records
Press release: California metalcore crew Atreyu have announced details of their new album Baptize, due out June 4th on Spinefarm Records. Following the departure of frontman Alex Varkatzas last October, the band – vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist/vocalist Portner McKnight and drummer Kyle Rosa – are forging ahead with new material.
My thoughts: Atreyu was able to write some catchy hooks on Baptize but it definitely is not nearly as strong as their earlier records. A lot of the songs feel repetitive in nature. The singles were a mixed bag with Warrior being the best example of the repetitive nature but No Matter What and Untouchable are other examples of this. Oblivion may be the best song on the album with a special nod to Sabotage Me which at least sees the band try something new. Like The Offspring above this album is a mixed bag with some cuts I'll go back to but a lot of generic filler that was not needed.
The First Rock Band On Mars - The First Rock Band On Mars EP
Label: Self-Released
Press release: The kid-friendly, parent pop punk project, The First Rock Band on Mars, comprised of Kellin Quinn, Ryan Key, Howi Spangler and James DiNanno, are releasing their Self-Titled album just in time for Father’s Day. Inspired by the project’s founder DiNanno’s first children’s book, The First Rock Star On Mars. The 5-track EP is set for release on Friday, June 11. The aforementioned book was actually what initially brought the group together. What began as just a narration for the book soon became an original 5-track EP and thus, a new project was born.
My thoughts: Honestly this record rocks. It's really only 4 tracks without the intro or the instrumental outro. But we get a punk rock cut (I Know What I Want), a pop punk banger (Rockstars Of The Universe) a little bit of screaming (The First Rock Band On Mars) and a mid tempo slice of goodness (Comet). If you grew up going to Warped Tour in the 00's but now have young kids this is what you need to spin for them.
