There’s virtually little debate that Tim and Lars of RANCID fame are some of the best punk rock song writers ever, and this new disc featuring Lars and his backing crew proves that nothing can stop these guys from digging their ever strong stake into punk rock history. First and foremost, this record is more “rock” than anything else. The songs are all passionate, personal, and vivid – there’s nothing holding any tune back from becoming something akin to punk rock folklore. The backbone to LARS and THE BASTARDS is essentially a documentation of Lars’ childhood growing up in Cambell, California. Tim realized the potential in Lars’ incredible storying telling ability, and co-wrote the tunes with Lars. Tim recorded and produced the project, as always, he does nothing short of excellent. Besides Lars singing and playing the guitar, the band is backed by Scott of HEPCAT, playing drums, Big Jay Bastard at Bass, and Lars’ little bro, Craig also at guitar. The end product is astounding. I’m as big a RANCID fan as it comes, and trust me, this side-project is just as worthy as anything released under the RANCID name, and probably a little better too in some areas. “Dead American,” kicks the disc off, and its immediate topic of the brutality of war hits hard and fast. The chorus is undeniably catchy, as most are on this thing, and refinement slacks a little bit, adding a nice level of chaos to the sound. “To Have and Have not,” appears a few tracks later, and is by far, the best song on here – even if it is a Billy Bragg cover. The injection of flavor that Lars and Tim put in that song is that something that only those guys could have done. Hearing Lars sing, “Just because you’re better than me, doesn’t mean I’m lazy, just because I dress like this, doesn’t mean I’m a communist,” is extremely poignant, and heartfelt. The next few songs shred by, continuing in the typical RANCID “Let’s Go” era sound, which is just fine by me. “Wine and Roses,” provides the next major step in the disc, providing a very bouncy, sing-along jam, that also adds some atypical percussion to the mix. At track number seven, “Wine and Roses,” is placed perfectly among the more ferocious attacks. “Anti-social,” couldn’t be a more apt name a song appearing here. By far the most crudest song on the disc, it reminds me that long before I was into this stuff, punk rock was far less shiny and and polished. This song could have easily appeared on that infamous 1984 Maximum Rock n Roll compilation. And from there, the disc reverts back to a more melodic vibe on both “10 Plagues of Egypt” and “Leaving Here.” “Subterranean” has some very nifty guitar work, and a few choice words from Lars just talking against the music towards the end – the effect is a bit odd, but pure. While none of these songs are quite filler, they don’t bring out some of the same bleeding tendencies that the first half of the disc does. Fortunately, the last two tracks, “Skunk,” and “Vietnam,” close out these blissful 35 minutes with numbing power and venom. My only real complaint about the LARS and THE BASTARDS disc is that the back-up vocals are far too muted for the purposes they serve. Many of these songs have definite potential for some good gang choruses or “woah, woah,” etc., and I imagine that after listening the final product, both Lars and Tim probably realized this. Otherwise, this is a nearly flawess musical project putting to music both the feelings and memories of two of the most talented punk rockers out there. Maybe not an instant classic, but give it time to grow, and this should certainly be celebrated in the future as something paramount to our beloved genre.

Hellcat/Epitaph

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