The Stories Are True

Album Review

The comparison is almost too easy. One should really dig deeper. There's got to be a different way to describe Time Again and their debut full-length, The Stories Are True. But whatever — there's a time and place to state the obvious and that moment is now. Time Again is Rancid. Or at the very least, they are Rancid's whoresons: They've got the old-school street punk aesthetic going on (studs, mohawks, and all), and their melodic instincts push their sound much closer to the accessibility of, well, Rancid, than the rough edges of, say, the Unseen. Their songs are fast, rousing, fist-in-the-air singalongs that tackle topics like friendship, brushes with the law, empowerment, and just being a straight-up punk rocker. Singer Daniel Dart (who, incidentally, is originally from the East Bay area just like a certain influential band) has a voice so similar to Tim Armstrong's distinctive nasal sneer that one can hardly tell the difference between the two on the title track, which Armstrong himself graces with guest vocals. The band even takes a break from the lively, borderline Oi! feeling that fuels their album to throw in some ska riffs on "Streetwalker." Oh, Time Again is also signed to Armstrong's Epitaph imprint, Hellcat. All that said, if you like Rancid, you'll obviously dig these guys as they strip punk back down to the basics with a hardened attitude that's hardly contrived and an energy that's pretty undeniable. And looking past obvious similarities, Time Again really does offer up a fun listen. You know, considering.