Indestructible (2003)
    It's strange to think that Rancid are now one of the older bands - it seems only yesterday that they were one of the fresh, youthful punk bands reliving the Sex Pistols dream. Well, with a new generation of Good Charlottle wannabes competing to be the new Rancid, what are our newly crowned veterans up to? If there's one thing about punk that's predictable, its punk's predictability (haha). Many of the Rancid trademarks are there, especially in the more aggressive, 'old school' punk tracks. However, despite a healthy dose of punk cliches, Rancid also try their best over the 19 tracks to give us a lot of variety. The first three tracks are all deliberately different, preparing the listener immediately for a relatively diverse listen. Lyrically, the album is particularly good, with a sense of humour that Avril Lavigne wouldn't get (especiallywhenshesdead!!! -sorry, I'm not allowed). A lot of very personal lyrics also seem to be hidden beneath the arrogant punk veneer. However, despite the attempts at diversity within the cliched punk framework, so far there's been no song that has really gripped me. Every time I listen to Indestructible, I get an overall impression of good punk, with its softer and harder moments, but some songs are very forgettable - not bad, they just sink into the album and get lost. About five songs are particularly striking, but even so, they're not amazing, which is exactly what Rancid needs to be a sustainable musical entity. I'd prefer a risky, bombastic album that's completely and gloriously destructible than something middle-of-the-road. I say get off the fucking road and go bush! That said, I enjoyed Indestructible, I just don't respect it as an accomplishment for the band. It's great background music, and I think I'll tape it for my car.