Bay Area punk outfit
SWMRS
make a significant advance in their maturation with their second set for
Fueled by Ramen
,
Berkeley's on Fire
. While retaining the D.I.Y. spirit and snotty attitudes from their earlier days as
Emily's Army
, the quartet borrow from the early-2000s garage rock and post-punk revivals, swapping between cool grooves and jangly bounce like U.K. contemporary
Rat Boy
. With
Rich Costey
(
Muse
Mew
) at the helm, production has improved, the songwriting is tightened, and the taut runtime delivers a brisk, refreshing listen. Much of the album's charm lies in frontman
Cole Becker
's vocals, which affect an irresistible
Joe Strummer
/
Tim Armstrong
slack-jawed drawl. Even when he's singing -- as on the sweet "Ikea Date" and the
Vines
-esque "Bad Allergies" --
still sound like youthful punks searching for meaning in a messed-up world. That world is targeted in classic punk fashion throughout, with the boys -- guitarist
Max Becker
, drummer
Joey Armstrong
, and bassist
Seb Mueller
-- taking aim at U.S. politics, societal woes, and capitalist evils, summed up in the thumping "Lose Lose Lose" with the proclamation that "2019 is a fucking disaster." Other standouts include the jangly bopper "Trashbag Baby," the new wave bounce "Too Much Coffee," and the gritty "Lonely Ghosts," which adopts an air of '90s alterna-cool. While their entire catalog is worth a listen -- from the no-frills punk of their first two efforts to 2015's
Drive North
--
feels different, like a band that's hitting their stride with a catchy blend of punk-indebted styles delivered with the conviction of a more seasoned act. ~ Neil Z. Yeung