Rancid
Life Won’t Wait (Epitaph)
Crammed with a double-album’s worth of tunes, the fourth release by these Bay-area punks remains unapologetic retro-Clash. But the familiar ska, reggae and polka grooves, frantic rockabilly guitar, working-class politics and shout-along choruses are broadened by a markedly improved instrumental technique and increasingly introspective lyrics. There’s something more than a little odd about the way these earnest, gravel-eating Californians fake their English accents, so desperately do they want to pogo their way back to London, circa 1979. But the hook-crammed tunes are delivered with the urgency of a back-alley rumble, and with Rancid’s role models in retirement, “Life Won’t Wait” could easily fill the guilty-pleasure slot in some lapsed Clash fan’s summer collection.
