Russ Rankin will never be able to escape the shadow of his legacy in GOOD RIDDANCE and I have no intention of listening to Farewell Catalonia without the rich context of Rankin’s impressive background. As the frontman for one of the few hardcore bands that helped define my own personal existence and growth from teenager into adulthood, not a day goes by where Rankin’s voice is not in my head.

It’s that voice on Farewell Catalonia, along with the expected lyrical bite and charming, sometimes devilish delivery that makes this debut solo effort such a treasure. With little instrumentation besides warm guitar sounds and light percussion, Rankin’s voice is constantly in the driver’s seat. Defying what seems to be the norm, Farewell Catalonia is not in the genre of alt-country, though I’m at a loss of what to call it besides “Solo Russ Rankin songs”. A little too aggro for “whispy sounds from a dank coffee shop”, but not exactly something that will generate a pit. A melancholy tone is draped over the nearly 40 minute release, but it’s not terribly different from what GOOD RIDDANCE fans heard on “Jeannie” or “Cheyenne” (minus the whole thumpin’ punk/hardcore thing), and smiles of optimism sparkle through several seams.

Rankin still has (more than a few) choice words about the political decisions of our elected leaders (“American Amnesia”, “Flesh and Bone”), and matters of love and heartbreak aren’t far behind. What’s new here are sprinkled bits of stories that appear to be torn out of the GOOD RIDDANCE touring playbook, one of which shines on “Points In Between”, which briefly talks about the gratitude shown to the band in a quiet host town, thrilled to have a national touring band make their own scene a destination. It’s a humble, if not slightly cynical song, that eventually drifts into “I miss you” romantics.

You can tell that Farewell Catalonia took some time to germinate. The songs are thorough, sufficiently different from each other, and reflect a taut seriousness that Rankin has always shown, at least in public (and if you’ve ever interviewed him in person, you know that he can give a withering look like almost no other if he thinks you’re wasting his time). Part of me continues to hold on to GOOD RIDDANCE not being entirety dead and the wish that new music will eventually propagate. But even if that part of his life stays mostly buried, except for a few shows here and there, Farewell Catalonia issues no doubt about Rankin continuing to make meaningful music with the genres of punk and hardcore fading from the rear-view mirror.

Paper + Plastick