Even though they’ve been around for an astounding 32 years, California punk staples Rancid haven’t lost their touch on their tenth studio album Tomorrow Never Comes. With their signature fast-paced style in tow, furiously picturesque lyrics help add polish to the band’s already acclaimed discography.
With a diving guitar riff and ripping drums, the album’s title track holds no prisoners even before the vocals come in. When the vocals come in, they push the volume up to 11 with their attitude, taking everyone down and using the ideal of no tomorrow to push the envelope today: “Don’t you tell me about tomorrow/ ‘Cause tomorrow will never come/ Gonna cheat, steal and borrow/ ‘Cause tomorrow never comes.”
Just like its predecessors, the album maintains the rapid pace the entire time. This pace is really kept up by drummer Branden Steineckert and bassist Matt Freeman, especially on “Devil In Disguise.” With a rapid bassline from Freeman and foreboding lyricism about keeping a gauge on your surroundings, Steineckert keeps that energy going with a simple but powerful drum sequence alternating between mostly toms and cymbals.
“Don’t Make Me Do It” runs under a similar vein but this time the guitar section guided by Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen creates a virtuoso opening where ringing guitars help signal the beginning of the track. The guitars don’t go away after that, going up and down throughout the song while the lyrics keep the aura throughout.
The album’s highlight must be “It’s A Road To Righteousness,” a pure classic punk song that glorifies one of punk’s founding principles– loyalty. The instrumental is simple, with many short riffs, a small solo section between each verse and a bigger solo near the song’s conclusion. Its lyrics go through the classic rebellion against authority but this significant focus on loyalty to those around them and the persuasion that it is something not taught but formed in the soul, making the song more profound than it first appears: “You can’t teach loyalty/ It’s an honor bestowed/ It’s a road to righteousness/ When you’re living by the gentlemen’s code.”
Overall, Rancid keeps trucking with its classic sound, and they have started to come to a place where experimentation may not be the way to go; keeping up with its values is much better. It’s the righteous thing to do.
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