Indestructible

iTunes Review

After pursuing various solo projects, the four members of Rancid reconvened for Indestructible, an album that synthesizes 1998’s Life Won’t Wait and 2000’s Rancid. Life Won’t Wait had given group leader Tim Armstrong the opportunity to explore his interest in Jamaican music and R&B, while Rancid had been a return to the pure street punk that is the passion of guitarist and singer Lars Frederiksen. Indestructible gives each player the chance to spotlight his style. Frederiksen’s “Out of Control” is a vicious piece of antiauthoritarian punk rock, while the piano-infused “Arrested in Shanghai” is one of Armstrong’s most moving story songs. However, the album fares best when the pair fuses their ideas. “Tropical London,” “Travis Bickle,” and “Red Hot Moon” combine the flavor of ska and the angry determination of hardcore and each song is superlative. Against a rising tide of personal stresses and distractions, Indestructible managed to unite Rancid’s divergent opinions. The band even threw in a few sterling pop anthems. “Fall Back Down” and “Start Now” have all the ragged charm of the band’s 1995 crossover hit “Ruby Soho.”