Album Review: Let The Dominoes Fall

Rancid has been more or less my favorite band since I was 7 years old. From the moment I heard the scratchy guitar opening of Nihilism off of 1994's "Let's Go", I was hooked. At the tender age of 7, I didn't know anything or even care about music. But hearing this music blaring out of my brother's boom box one summer afternoon down the Jersey shore, I just somehow knew it was right.


Ever since achieving worldwide fame with 1995's platinum "...And Out Come The Wolves", they have been subject to copious amounts of praise and scrutiny. Mostly praise though, I would say. But what is annoying is that since then all of their subsequent work was immediately compared to something. Questions such as "What other album is this new one like?", and "Where are the Clash influences?" inevitably arise. Never mind all that. This record deserves to be discussed within its own context.

"Let The Dominoes Fall" is Rancid's seventh release and the follow up to 2003's "Indestructible". It dropped on June 2, 2009--nearly six years since their last album. Six years is a long damn time for an active punk band to put out a cd. They put forth several side projects, but not a proper Rancid record. I had been patiently waiting and now that its out, it has been in steady rotation in my overly-green room. "LTDF" signifies a certain maturation for Rancid both as a band and as people.

This record is in my opinion worth the wait. The timing seems to be on point because it feels like a good summer album. This is especially true with their lead-off single Last One To Die and the infectious first track East Bay Night. The writing on this album ranges from somewhat bland to excellent. For example I Ain't Worried, musically speaking, is tough as hell but the lyrics are pretty cheesy. Conversely, New Orleans is beautifully written and ranks high up there among the best songs Rancid has ever written. Legendary Booker T (From Booker T and the MG's) makes an appearance with his genius mastery of the Hammond B3 organ on the track Up To No Good. This song is catchy as hell too. Topics visited on the cd include the meltdown of the American economy (This Place), the state of the working class (Lulu), the plight of US troops (Civilian Ways), and long lasting allegiance to balls out punk rock (Locomotive). My only qualm with "LTDF" is pretty much all of Matt Freeman's verses. I am just done with hearing him sing on the albums. Simply put, it sounds wrong. Freeman is one of the top bass players in rock and roll and he should be content with that. Just leave the singing to Tim and Lars, man. Other than that it is an overall solid release. And I suggest that you spend an extra 5 or 10 bucks and buy the extended pack. It comes with a cool bonus cd of acoustic versions of most of the songs. Most of these guys are in their 40’s or close to it, so they aren't going to put out another “Let’s Go” or “Rancid (2000)”. Those are their best albums in my opinion. “Let the Dominoes Fall” is not their best work but it represents a mature type of punk rock. Releasing 20 years worth of circle-pit type punk can get kind of tiresome, so cheers to Rancid for continuously evolving.

I'm going to finish with track 18, That's Just The Way It Is Now. I didn't care all that much about it upon first listen. But now it has become one of my favorites. It has a catchy old-school reggae beat. But it offers much more in its lyrics. This song is just so poignant because it deals with accepting change. And as the years march forward, change is not only inevitable but it intensifies. Relationships end and new ones are forged, people move away and drift in and out of your life. Settings change and so do frames of mind. But the best you can do is just roll with it. "That's just the way things are, that's just the way it is now."

Key Tracks: East Bay Night, This Place, Up To No Good, Damnation, New Orleans, Locomotive, That's Just The Way It Is Now, and The Highway.

Video for Last One To Die