Time Again

Darker Days

[2.5/5]

Punk rock forgives a lot. Limited instrumental skills and simplistic songwriting don’t have to hold you back if you mix a fierce enough concoction of energy, individuality and a heart that bleeds true. The problem with Time Again is they instinctively try to cop pretty much all of this stuff from Tim Armstrong. It’s one thing to honor the guy who runs your label, but it’s something else entirely to rewrite a Rancid album without nearly as much lyrical depth, guitar chops or stamina. Their first album (2006’s The Stories Are True) had stronger songs; on Darker Days you get the sense they more frequently scratch their way through the formula. Time Again may very well mean it more than the other spike-clad legions of SoCal punkalikes, but they still seem content to pogo in the shadows of their overtly obvious influences. (HELLCAT) Jeff Leven