Teenage Bottlerocket
Stay Rad!
(Fat Wreck Chords)
3/5
Initially, when I hit play on this eighth full-length from Wyoming punkers Teenage Bottlerocket, I thought it was going to be yet another band grasping at straws, trying to make their sound as close to classic punk rock as possible. But Stay Rad! starts out with “You Don’t Get the Joke,” an auditory equivalent to a sleeveless-denim-jacket-wearing skid spray-painting the 401 overpasses and smoking out front of their local convenience store.
Thankfully, much like the denim-wearing skid, this song is the black sheep in the family. The rest of the album quickly changes pace to an upbeat punk with a devil-may-care attitude, content with a sixer of Busch and a pack of Canadian Classics, and talking shit about this year’s Warped Tour line-up.
This album is a jovial experience full of angsty, nefarious subject matter to tickle your inner juvenile spirit with a pop-punk feather. It’s nothing new, but it’s a fun listen nonetheless.