There is a new TRANSPLANTS album!!
The three-man all-star band from the States, featuring Tim Armstrong (Rancid) and Travis Barker (Blink 182) along with drummer Rob Aston, has released their new album after seven years.
It is a CD with twelve songs that starts off very promising.
The first songs, especially the HC punk song “In a Warzone,” are quite enjoyable. It is classic hardcore punk in the American style, rooted in the hardcore of the first and somewhat second wave. “See it to believe it” goes in a similar direction, with the punk sound coming more to the forefront here. Simple melodies, partly two-part vocals, and great catchiness characterize this song. So far, so classic.
After that, the tempo, (street) punk, and hardcore are occasionally dialed back. “Something different” or “It’s a Problem” are not necessarily songs you would expect from a punk band. On the other hand, TRANSPLANTS have never been purely a punk band musically, as they have always experimented a lot since their inception. So, anyone expecting an album from the band that always goes full throttle and consistently adheres to punk clichés will be rolling their eyes in annoyance by the time they reach “Any of them.”
However, those who appreciate the band for their openness and don’t mind that a band plays appealing hip hop alongside hardcore punk will be well served by this album.
TRANSPLANTS are, in what they do, absolutely punk as well, because they do what they feel like and do not bend to the laws of the market or any scene. This may not sit well with some, but it also holds a mirror up to those individuals. Even punk can be square!
