As the sixth addition to Rancid’s discography, “Indestructible” is a refreshing return to a style of punk from which the band seems to veer every other album.
Just about anything, though, seems better then Rancid’s last recording endeavor. The 2000 self-titled album was a contrived attempt at a more aggressive punk, featuring 22 yell-your-absolute-loudest tracks crammed into only 39 minutes.
“Indestructible,” a far cry from “Rancid,” is more honest. The band doesn’t repeat its mistake of desperately attempting to repossess the hearts of its stubborn old-school punk fanatics who abandoned the band after the more anarchist yet surprisingly melodic “Life Won’t Wait” (1998). Featuring reggae and a little bit of blues wrapped up in to a jangly variation of ska, “Life Won’t Wait” was a refreshing change, but the band is clearly more comfortable sticking to their deep-rooted sound in “Indestructible.”
Sharing the same name as the album, track one is a highlight. The high-energy song is intended to pay homage to The Ramones being “too tough to die.”
“Spirit of ’87,” another high point, is a fiery and nostalgic recount of a young desire to Rock and Roll: “Even when punk rock was way out, it was always in my blood.” It’s also sad in some ways, telling of the band’s unintentional isolation from their families (presumably because of their music).
The best song on “Indestructible” is “Stand Your Ground,” written for the American homeless. The melody isn’t too impressive, but it’s evident the lyrics are genuine, thus the message comes across successfully.
The rest of the album is, for the most part, enjoyable.
What “Indestructible” lacks, however, is a certain level of creativity. Instead of utilizing their song writing capabilities, guitarists-vocalists Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen revert to the cliché punk rock characteristic of substituting adjectives with expletives – for no apparent reason – and more painfully, bouncing between a maximum of two or three major chords per song.
What’s also disappointing is how Armstrong and Frederiksen so often double on the same voice part when their fan base knows they are musically capable of harmony, an ability the band should embrace rather than smother with unison repetitive chorus.
Somehow, though, the band’s stylistic homecoming succeeds in distracting the listener from these shortcomings.
Overall, “Indestructible” is good. It boasts an impressive 19 tracks, which, unlike “Rancid,” average way longer than 1.7 minutes per song.
If anything, Rancid deserves to be applauded for not succumbing to an invasive pop scene, something the whole world seems guilty of.
In a time when Rolling Stone features (on its cover, no less) Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen for being hot and insanely wealthy and Ruben Studdard for adding melismas to watered down remakes, Rancid has stood its ground and remained loyal to its punk background.
