I’ll say this. I give Teenage Bottlerocket an A for consistency. The album artwork for every album they’ve done is nearly identical; a color scheme is generally the only thing updated. The cover for Tales From Wyoming, however, caught my attention a little more. I always mention album artwork because it’s generally the first impression a person has of an artist before hearing a single song.
And I liked it. I was excited to listen to it, and I wasn’t disappointed. There’s really nothing that’s crazy complex. You want five-chord, fast, melodic punk songs about girls? You’ve got em. Tales From Wyoming is exactly what it is: fourteen tracks all clocking in under four minutes telling stories from the minds of co-vocalists Ray Carlisle and Kody Templeman. There’s really no guessing or misinterpretations for listeners when it comes to the lyrics, and that adds to the fun.
Additionally, the mix is composed very well. The guitars and drums throughout the album blend together nicely. The distortion isn’t so terribly loud that it blows out the speakers, but it’s loud enough that you feel like you’re at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, with stage divers flying overhead and kids screaming the words back at the band members onstage.
Tales From Wyoming by Teenage Bottlerocket is available now via Rise Records.
This has been another Shameless Promotion.