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CD review: Time Again
By Billy Schear
wschear@mscd.edu

Time Again The Stories Are True (Hellcat, 2006)

True stories and decorative metal studs are hardly an antidote to Time Again’s Rancid smell.

It is a loathsome feeling when merely touching an album reveals exactly what every track will sound like. High-contrast black-and-white imagery and blood-red Old English lettering urgently advertises Time Again’s punk-rock affiliations. Why not shout it loud and proud, when all of the camouflage in the armed forces couldn’t hide their derivative sound?

The band is signed with Hellcat Records, a subsidiary of Epitaph. Hellcat is a joint partnership between Brett Gurewitz of the band Bad Religion and Tim Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist of punk outfit Rancid. Armstrong does most of the talent scouting for the label, and it seems that in

Time Again he has found an easy promotion: a band that looks and sounds exactly like his own.
Time Again’s debut LP is composed of 13 tracks that immediately conjure up comparisons to Rancid, whose distinct sound is impossible to mistake but easy to imitate.

The Stories Are True features a standard amount of heavy distortion that occasionally gives way to a crisp up-strumming ska riff, sentimental lyrics and vocals that seem to say that melody is for suckers.

Their gimmick is that every song on the album is based on true events, which is a meaningless gesture since not one contains anything close to a unique perspective. Songs by outcast punkers dealing with “Junkies,” “Broken Bodies” and “Criminals” are more than cliché; they are meaningless pandering to an audience of zombies who would rather sing along obliviously to played-out themes than tolerate a fresh take on anything.

The album’s title track fixes one’s eyes permanently in a rolled-back position. It features a guest appearance by Armstrong. When he and lead singer Daniel Dart share the microphone, two facts are noticeable: first, there is no perceivable difference between their voices, and second, one must instinctively wipe away spittle as Dart’s voice apes Armstrong’s trademark slur.

If musical conformity packaged as rebellious counterculture continues unchecked, then this band cannot be stopped. On the other hand, if punk fans pause to think critically and have the temerity to call it like it is, then Time Again and those like them will finally be crippled and broken.