Common Rider can be forgiven if only because they’ve managed to pull off a ska-punk record that doesn’t rely on cheesy horns and guitar distortion pedals.
Another chick punkpop band that bucks most of the pitfalls. Sure, they’re cute, sure, they rock pretty well, sure they write pretty lil’ peppy pop gems.
If you want to be the new Lookout! (now that Lookout! wants to be the new Sub Pop, and who knows what Sub Pop is up to these days), take it all the way.
Moral ambiguity is squelched early in the game. The bad guys aren’t generic thugs, they’re first-rate terrorists with a biologically-engineered plague.
Some pop-punk influence, but thankfully beefed up in every facet to take it out of that genre. The lyrics are funny and poignant and not sung like a sissy.
The book includes a disc of Farner’s new music: Nothing much there, but not terrible. No one listened to Grand Funk for lyrical content, messages, or guidance.