The Surgeons Are In

The Transplants new album, Haunted Cities, is a smattering of musical styles thrown together in such a way that makes classification difficult. At times it’s punk, sometimes rocksteady, every once in a while a hip-hop approach is present. The only thing that is for certain is that The Transplants are a creative, genre-defying group that have become more than just a side-project.In a similar vein to their self-titled debut, Travis Barker, Tim Armstrong, and Rob Aston have created a chaotic symphony that will appeal to fans of independent music. Refusing to allow their punk rock roots to pigeon-hole them, The Transplants recruited Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog and B-Real on some of their tracks, while members of the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. help push the laid back flow of “What I Can’t Describe.” Every song has a strong identity, showing all of the band’s influences and interests without sounding like many other groups.

Lyrically, this album is dark and heavy. Rob’s prose is street smart and brooding, with words like “Life in a war zone/You make the wrong move/Remove your torso/Guns blow back from the track/Now the bloods roll/Unslow 24-7 now the funds flow/Anybody gets in my way I let their guts show” flowing with a disturbing calm and a sense of honesty that helps give it reverence. Contrast that with Tim Armstrong’s “marbles in your mouth” style of singing and you have a recipe for success.

Haunted Cities is an album that breaks the rules in all the right ways. They have put together an album that defies the “genre-game,” without alienating itself. The cacophony that The Transplants brand of music is one that is original, innovative, and intense.