Rancid
Let The Dominoes Fall

From newspapers to the internet, from public squares to television, we increasingly hear new reflections and desires for change growing and mounting in people. Especially for those who find themselves confronting their uncertain future, the first thing to do seems clear: first of all, overcome that social paralysis, that inertia that has made a long and endless series of deceptions, frauds victimizing unsuspecting and stunned "well-meaning people" possible. The more time passes, the more we feel obliged to express all possible indignation towards every form of power and control. And so today we find ourselves talking about indignation, this new craving for democracy, which in my humble opinion, is nothing but the other side of resignation: these are not only my thoughts about the current situation but also more or less explicit premises and underlying ideas present in the new Rancid album, "Let The Dominoes Fall": an album recorded in 2008 at George Lucas's Skywalker Studios, but only released in 2009, by the Hellcats Rec. label, an "independent" branch of the better-known Epitaph Records.

The Rancid have a domino effect in mind. A shake-up capable of shaking from within the pillars of progress as we thought we knew them until today: a chain reaction that can trigger the fall, and thus the end, of every form of control over unaware masses. Mark the end of all unscrupulous multinational interference in "democratic" governments. Too many irreparable damages caused by the slow fading of democracy, the Rancid observe, and judging by the numerous domestic examples, such hidden premises seem indeed refuted and crucial.

As early as the 90s, the East Coast U.S.A. set styles and guidelines for the entire Punk Rock scene, so the Rancid, right from the first chord of the debut track of the album, "East Bay Night", immediately reaffirm that unmistakable style of theirs, which remains relentlessly and unalterably resistant to the passage of time.

"This Place" is the next track: this place, "a horror story", a gloomy place from which one can only flee, or at least attempt to change. A nasty place, governed only by the law of the strongest; profit at any cost. Where accumulating wealth is mandatory to the detriment of those who cannot and do not really want to react to oppression. The Rancid, unabashedly, seem to refer precisely to those "Facade" democracies that on the one hand declare the equality of citizens before the law, and on the other hand facilitate criminals; slither complicit among the most heinous crimes; allow the disconnected logic of indiscriminate profit by corporations and ruthless Holdings, Chinese boxes, matryoshkas of refined deceptions; all well-coordinated and orchestrated by those "Illustrious Minds" (and "Illuminated!") that sink and thrive with their roots, climbing like weeds through the wall cracks; we are talking about power lobbies that pollute markets worldwide.

In "Up To No Good" the festive mood leaves just enough time to swallow, at least for an instant, the bitter realization of the most recent facts: limbs short of oxygen shake numbly. They move to the beat of an irresistible Ska Punk sound. The peculiarity of this track, and of Rancid more generally, is that just a few bars, even just the Raggamuffin title pronounced a couple of times without any musical accompaniment, would be enough to make you shake your legs and fling your arms around exuberantly. The Hammond and brass section duly refine the groove, drying it of any potential excessive baroque intricacy.

"I Ain't Worried", almost resembles a Calypso interlude. Here appears the weathered voice of ultra-veteran Matt Freeman at the microphone, taking on a Rap Core with all due respect. (Less successful, in my opinion, is the vocal performance of the eclectic bassist in "L.A. River").

"Liberty & Freedom" is a track of pure Reggae lineage. Tracks like "The Bravest Kid", "Damnation", "Locomotive", are very easy to digest, establishing a direct impact with the listener, as per good Punk Rock tradition.

"You Want It, You Got It", "Lulu", these too go straight to the point. Of very short duration, they flow without much difficulty. Less bold from an experimental standpoint, but no less noteworthy for that.

-The first single released from "Let the Dominoes Fall" is "Last One To Die". An old-school Hardcore track, so to speak. Here converge all the charged and booming atmospheres to which Rancid have always accustomed us.

Lars Frederiksen and Tim Armstrong together represent an undeniably valuable vocal duo. In "Disconnected" they effectively bring to life an engaging "Back-and-forth", taking turns in the execution of verse and chorus, respectively.

The same occurs in "New Orleans". Here they weave praises of the city that birthed a great number of genres. Of the "Stoic grace" with which it will rise again after the impending catastrophe provoked by Hurricane Katrina: the worst massacre in the history of music: "...You see i lost my tongue and i burn my Bible, but made it back home to the New Orleans...", they recite, astonished.

"Civilian Ways" is an acoustic track with a faint Country flavor: the guitar slides evoke a calm "Unplugged" atmosphere.

"Let The Dominoes Fall" in addition to being the title of the new album, also plays like an anarchic and intransigent premise; a symbol, that of the domino, directly recalling the fall of every power stigma, in order to restart and redraw everything from scratch.

"Skulls City" is a track with the unmistakable sound of the suburbs: Rap mixed with Punk, Hip Hop, Hardcore. An indelible track, and a distinctive weave characteristic of the Band.

"Let The Dominoes Fall", in the end, speaks of our past and the future, and one might almost believe it parodies that famous and irreverent phrase from "Anarchy in U.K.": the infamous "...No future for me..." of the revived Sex Pistols. For Rancid, reality appears more multifaceted compared to the disappointed and blunt protest of Rotten and company. A new rebirth awaits us, a new course to chart, a new possible direction to follow, a new world, therefore, starting precisely from the ruins of the previous one, and the fall of all the tiles that make up the domino of "Power"!

Emilio Pantuliano