ALBUM REVIEW: Teenage Bottlerocket – Sick Sesh! (Fat Wreck Chords)
Teenage Bottlerocket have been making high-energy pop-punk for nearly 20 years now, so are unlikely to attempt any major shift.
Yes, their sound and style owes much to the late, great Ramones, down to the leather jacket and Converse look they adopt.
And of course they’re influenced by the likes of Green Day, Bouncing Souls and Offspring; but who that’s making this kind of music isn’t?
This is the ninth studio album of the Wyoming quartet’s career, and while it’s still melodic, it packs a fairly hefty punch.
For me, it harks back to their best albums, 2009’s They Came From The Shadows and 2012’s Freak Out!
Less radio-friendly than their previous record, 2019’s Stay Rad!, it’s pop-punk with real bite.
Vocalist/guitarist Ray Carlisle says the record is 12 songs long because 14 was too many, and they wanted to keep the energy up.
They’ve certainly succeeded in that, as they push the pedal to the metal from the off, and barely let it up for the next 35 minutes.
Teenage Bottlerocket benefit from having three songwriters: Carlisle, guitarist Kody Templeman (who’s also in The Lillingtons) and bassist Michael Chen.
Losing your mind
Most of Sick Sesh! was written pre-Covid, but the pandemic gave them a little time to add something different.
Thus, we get the Templeman-penned Strung Out On Stress, the fastest, angriest track here, about losing your mind during the pandemic.
Then there’s the mid-tempo, more melodic The Squirrel, written by bassist Miguel Chen and sung by Templeman, which is – no kidding – about watching a squirrel during lockdown.
Squirrel song
It’s a great feelgood tune, and before you know it you’ll be belting out: “You’re my friend, little guy, you’re my dude/We’re not so different you and I/We’re both just trying to get by.”
Chen also wrote the infectious lead single Ghost Story, which starts out in Alkaline Trio territory: “I didn’t mean to die in the woods that day/I was just messing around, I thought I’d be okay.”
Things take an upturn when our spirit makes it clear he means no harm, he just wants his girl to know he’s got her back: “You can’t ignore the floating objects/Or the shivers down your spine/It’s true I may have left my body/But I’m not leaving you behind.”
The bassist also penned wistful album closer Moving On, about his decision to move from his hometown of Laramie, Wyoming, to Texas to be with his ailing father.
Elsewhere, You’re Never Going Out Of Style, Hello Dana and Spend The Night are hook-heavy love songs which showcase TB doing what they do best; balls out punk rock ‘n’ roll.
Never Sing Along is a thundering break-up song with a real ‘I’m over you’ message, while Gorilla Warfare is a punk rock banger with a deep message about self-destruction.
While they’re hardly reinventing the wheel, Teenage Bottlerocket are trying new things as they enter their third decade as a band, while not straying too far from what they’ve always done best.
The first thing I want to do when Sick Sesh! finishes is play it again. The best record of their career? Very possibly. 9/10.
