Rancid's 2023 album
Tomorrow Never Comes is a spiritual descendant of their self-titled album from 23 years earlier, where the band sidelined their usual bouncing ska tunes and street-tough ballads, as well as any traces of grandeur and subtlety, for a nonstop blast of fast and furious punk. The group may be a little less furious now, maybe a little slower, but they're still plenty powerful for a band entering their fourth decade of releasing punk rock records. The 16 songs flash by in under a half-hour, barreling past in a nostalgic rush of pirate melodies, frayed vocal chords, and chunky guitar riffs. It's not entirely dissimilar to their previous few records, but there's a layer of artifice that seems to have been stripped off to be replaced by a sense of energetic joy and fist-raising community.
Rancid have certainly never lacked for energy, but sometimes, here and there in more recent times, it's felt forced and somewhat rote. Neither of those fun-killing flaws are lurking here, and it's easy to just let the record play and imagine it's 1997 or so and stadium gigs, mortgages, fancy studios, and major-label dalliances are a distant mirage. While the band sound energized, it's the singing that pushes the record into the red. Both
Tim Armstrong and
Lars Frederiksen yelp their vocals like wrestlers in the throes of a particularly tough match, while bassist
Matt Freeman punctuates the record with his whimsically gravelly croak. The three trade off leads, slide in and out of the mix, and sing their version of shouted harmony throughout, with
Armstrong taking charge less frequently than in the past. While it's a little like benching Reggie Jackson to let his less proficient teammates take a swing, the decision pays off and the democratic nature of the album is oddly heartening in an age of me-first selfishness.
Armstrong's eccentrically iconic drawl is still something quite odd and beautiful, though, and when he's out front -- as on the verses of "It's a Road to Righteousness" and "One Way Ticket" --
Rancid transcend punk cliches. Most of the record does do that, and the jolt of energy that songs like the rousing title track, the empowering "Hear Us Out," and the hopped-up sea shanty "Devil in Disguise" deliver makes
Tomorrow Never Comes a hearty, exciting course correction for the band. They may or may not ever release anything as genre defining as
...And Out Come the Wolves or as hell-bent on destruction as that aforementioned 2000 album, but as far as punk in 2023 goes, there aren't many bands making music as convincing or powerful as
Rancid do here. ~ Tim Sendra
