Reviewed on Oct 8, 2005 by Roel

Do you know that feeling when the summer is coming? Whenever the temperature takes a 180 degree turn for the better, it seems that my musical taste gets a good spin too. Just throw out the moody, cloudy shit that gets their fair share of playtime in the winter: bring on the ska and pop-punk.

Well, let me rephrase that last sentence. Bring on the pop-punk, as we all know ska is either dead or lying real low at the moment. It doesn’t really matter though, as long as there are still bands like Useless ID that keep on playing quality and sunny pop-punk. The Israeli dudes are back with what is already their fifth full length to date and their third on Kung-Fu Records. If they’re still considered to be a band that didn’t fully break trough yet, their latest offering called Redemption will make sure they will in no time.

Although Redemption turned out to be the kind of album you’d expect the band to make, it showcases a couple of surprises. The band continues to bring the masses catchy and easy to get into pop-punk, including cheesy lyrics about life, love and girls and a clean sound. You’ll find yourselves singing along to their standout poppy punk tracks such as “Pink stars and magazines”, “Deny it” and “Turn up the stereo” in no time. But this time around, there are a couple of tracks that deserve special attention. “Dying Love” for instance is a more pop-rock oriented song with what I reckon to be the best vocal-harmonies on a pop-punk album ever. While their previous albums tended to fade out and lose energy along the way, rather than keeping the listener awake, the two final tracks are probably their fastest songs they’ve ever recorded. The first of the two, “State of fear” (previously featured on the second Rock Against Bush comp), is a fast paced punk rock anthem with a strong political message reminding me of bands like Good Riddance and Rise Against (yet a little less hardcore). The final track and title song “Redemption” is a little less powerful, but still much heavier than the average Useless ID album.

I never used to be a big Useless ID fan, but Redemption finally changed my opinion about these Israeli lads. Redemption isn’t a flawless album. Far from, as a couple of tracks in the middle of the album fail to showcase that catchy sound I love so much, but it contains some of the catchiest Californian pop punk anthems that blow NUFAN’s latest offering out of the water. If you’re into No Use or any of their clone bands, you should definitely check this out, as you’d probably like it even more than I do. Now, if you will excuse me; I’m going to enjoy my summer.

Related Links:

• www.useless-id.com
• www.kungfurecords.com

1. It's Alright
2. Kiss Me Kill Me
3. Pink Stars & Magazines
4. Deny It
5. Suffer For The Fame
6. Turn Up The Stereo
7. Before I Go
8. Dying Love
9. Drinkage
10. Everything Turned Red
11. State Of Fear
12. Redemption

Album Reviews

Redemption Jul 21, 2005