Teenage Bottlerocket — They Came From The Shadows

I fell in love with this midwestern U.S. punk band's infectious "Radio" when I first heard it in early 2008 and checked the group out at last year's South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
I wasn't blown away, but enjoyed the performance enough to make me happy to see this new album — the group's third, but first for Fat Wreck — arrive in the mail.
The title track and "Not OK" remind me of The Misfits. I can also hear elements of The Ramones and Chixdiggit, but with more aggression and better guitar-playing, in several tracks. Lead single/video "Skate Or Die" seems to have a mission to make skateboarding seem rebellious and dangerous again. The tongue-in-cheek "Bigger Than KISS" name-checks other bands and songs, too, and is harder than most of the melodic punk found in these 14 tracks. "Fatso Goes Nutzoid" isn't as crass as the title suggests and instead sends a message about body image that young fans should take note of.
I'll give this a 7/10 and will likely go see Teenage Bottlerocket again when it plays Toronto's Kathedral on Oct. 27.
You can find out more at www.teenagebottlerocket.com.