Rancid - Let The Dominoes Fall

It’s not as if the band has been idle over the past few years; frontman Tim Armstrong has released a solo album and records with his side projects, and guitarist Lars Fredericksen has released records and toured with his side project, the Bastards. This time off has brought the band back together with an album that is solid, an album that Armstrong is calling his “favorite Rancid record to date.”

The diverse range of sounds displayed on the record is welcome and fun. The record opens with “East Bay Night,” a record that is the pure Rancid sound we’ve all come to know and love over the years, fast upbeat punk melodies crammed into a two-minute package. This sound happens over and over, with “Last One To Die,” “Skull City” and a ton more tracks. If you’ve ever loved Rancid, these records will continue to satisfy you, but they’re not the only sound displayed on the record.

There are a handful of ska tunes on the record, which is no surprise, but these tunes reach more toward the old school rocksteady beats that Armstrong is known for employing in his pre-Rancid career with Operation Ivy. Readily apparent on “Up To No Good,” which features a guest appearance by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Booker T on, it could easily be a song by an older, more mature Op Ivy, had Rancid never happened. And elsewhere, on the title track, the band pays homage to ‘50s rockers like Eddie Cochran in a way that you wouldn’t expect from a punk act like Rancid.

Let The Dominoes Fall is also definitely the most topical Rancid album so far. The reeling hardcore track “This Place ,” the anthemic “Lulu” and the trademark-sounding “Locomotive” are three tracks that create a bleak painting of the current economic landscape. “New Orleans” is an upbeat tribute to the hurricane-wrecked city, and “The Bravest Kids” and acoustic “Civilian Ways” focus on the soldiers in Iraq, a situation dear to the band after Armstrong’s brother did a tour in Iraq.

Even with the varied sounds and complex issues, this is, at its essence, a true Rancid record. This is exemplified by the record’s strongest track, “You Want It, You Got It,” an anthem to punk unity that sums up the band’s stance on the sound with the line “punk rock is my religion,” and declares in the chorus that “this is a place where everyone can belong.” It’s the call for unity that Armstrong took up with Operation Ivy, and a banner he has carried over all these years with Rancid to this day. It brings it all together, reminding you that this is a band that has over the years exemplified punk rock in the U.S. and will continue to do so on albums for years yet.

Hopefully, we won’t need to wait six years for the next one.