It’s been fifteen years since US punk rockers Social Distortion last graced us with an album – 2011’s Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes. With Mike Ness still leading the charge, the band is rounded out by Jonny Wickersham (guitar), Brent Harding (bass), and David Hidalgo Jr. (drums), the latter making his recording debut here, having joined the band just before the release of Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes. With the album subject to numerous delays, including Mike Ness’ shock diagnosis with tonsil cancer (he has happily now recovered), the fact that we have a new Social Distortion album at all is a reason to celebrate. The fact that it’s a belter, doubly so.
The album kicks off with the scything title track, all crackly riffs, arcing feedback, and sardonic vocals, with Mike Ness cynically noting that “the revolution’s been and done” over a clattering backdrop drawn straight for the Stooges’ playbook. It’s followed by the melodic powerhouse that is No Way Out, a track that quickly highlights why the likes of Pearl Jam, The Offspring, and Rancid are all such fans.
Having got the album off to a cracking start, Mike leads his band into the feedback strewn The Way Things Were, a nostalgic ballad that perfectly encapsulates the paradox of getting older while existing in what is primarily seen as a youth medium. It’s a great track, tapping into the sense of loss we all feel when faced with our own mortality. The album remains in a calmer vein for Tonight, which has a touch of folk written into its DNA, leaving it to Partners In Crime to raise the temperature as Mike asks “is anybody listening, testing one, two, three” – perhaps referring to the diminishing capacity of rock ‘n’ roll to reach the masses in these rapidly changing times.
A nod to the band’s eclectic history, Crazy Dreamer is a fun cow punk track that sounds remarkably like latter-day Meat Puppets, while Wicked Game (yes, that one) is indeed a cover of the well-worn Chris Isaak classic, emerging, somewhat unexpectedly, to sound like The Offspring’s reworking of their own Gone Away on Let The Bad Times Roll. It’s not a bad version by any means but, placed at the heart of the album alongside Crazy Dreamer, it just feels a little out of step, and it comes as a relief when the splenetic Walk Away kicks into gear. Better still, the taut stomp of Never Going Back Again has all the dark energy you could want, the subtle distortion added to Mike’s vocal only adding to the sense of defiance the song exudes.
The final pair of tracks bring the album to a most satisfactory conclusion. First up, the brisk Don’t Keep Me Hanging On has a melodic riff reminiscent of Sugar, before Over You wraps things up on a defiant note once more with heavy riffing, rock ‘n’ roll spirit, and a final cracking melody.
On the whole, Born To Kill is a more melodic and a more nostalgic album than its title might imply. While there are a handful of punk rockers, the record as a whole traverses the range of the band’s influences, to incorporate cow punk, rock, post-hardcore, and even, errr, Chris Isaak. The result is a melodic, frequently memorable, and always engaging record that highlights just why Social Distortion have been an influence to so many. 8/10
