Indestructible

1	Indestructible
2	Fall Back Down
3	Red Hot Moon
4	David Courtney
5	Start Now
6	Out of Control
7	Django
8	Arrested in Shanghai
9	Travis Bickle
10	Memphis
11	Spirit of '87
12	Ghost Band
13	Tropical London
14	Roadblock
15	Born Frustrated
16	Back up Against the Wall
17	Ivory Coast
18	Stand Your Ground
19	Otherside

Barnes & Noble

These Bay Area punk standard-bearers are still Clash-obsessed after all these years, but that's not exactly the worst thing in the world. Where Rancid's last, self-titled outing set the controls for the heart of '77, maintaining dangerous speed levels and maximum venom, Indestructible is something of a nod to Sandinista!, with its surfeit of off-the-beaten-path ramblings. Rancid show surprisingly deft footwork in moving from organ-fueled soul ("Fall Back Down") to convincingly beachy surf-rock (the infectiously bouncy "Memphis"). Diehards needn't fret too much, though: The quartet still flex plenty of muscle when they get down to business with bare-knuckled ska-punk ditties like "Red Hot Moon" and the semi-autobiographical "Spirit of '87." Indestructible has a couple of clinkers hidden in its depths -- notably the generic "Travis Bickle" -- but when a band is capable of hitting grand slams like the piano-laced, Faces-via-CBGB "Arrested in Shanghai," an occasional strikeout is easy to forgive. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Rancid's sixth album, Indestructible, starts off with a melodic blast of punk intentions, "Indestructible," and doesn't back down until the last chords of "Otherside," a heartbreaking ode to the late brother of Lars Fredericksen, fade away. In between are 17 songs that live up to the glorious reputation of one of the great punk bands of any era. Yeah, there ain't nothing new going on here: a little bit of ska, lots of politics, lots of pissed-off vocals (speaking of vocals, Tim Armstrong just keeps getting better and weirder with each album), lots of passion, and lots of melody. Songs like the anthemic "Fall Back Down," "Memphis," and "Born Frustrated" are the kind of songs that make you want to throw your arms around your nearest comrade and belt out the chorus at the top of your lungs. Songs like the red-hot ska-fueled "Red Hot Moon"; the funky ode to the homeless, "Stand Your Ground"; and the spaghetti western-inspired "Django" show off the band's range. "Start Now" is the track that stands out from the rest; it has one of the band's best choruses and is a perfect blend of their epic and melodic tendencies. The only downside of the album is the slow ballad "Arrested in Shanghai," which is an admirable attempt at expanding their sound which nevertheless is a failure. There are also a couple of punk-by-the-numbers tunes, like the fairly plodding "David Courtney" and the silly "Roadblock." (It seems like the Lars-sung songs are the weak links on the album.) Overlook these small problems and this is still prime Rancid. If you know Rancid and love Rancid, you will love this record like an old friend. If you are new to the band, get this and then get And Out Come the Wolves immediately. Tim Sendra