Transplants
' 2002 debut shouldn't have worked. There was the supergroup tag, for one, with
Tim Armstrong
and
Travis Barker
at the center of a trio that also included vocalist/rapper
Rob Aston
. And besides, their charge of modified
punk revivalism
, streetscape grit, and
hip-hop
bravado seemed (on paper anyway) like music for the villains in a
DMX
action vehicle, or at the very least a sound tailored for game systems. Nevertheless it was oddly effective, and managed some real atmosphere. In 2005
the Transplants
return. They've skipped from
Armstrong
's
Hellcat
imprint to
Barker
Atlantic
-distributed
La Salle
, but it's close to the same sound on
Haunted Cities
. Opener
"Not Today"
suggests the first record's
"Tall Cans in the Air"
; it sounds like a futuristic retelling of 1977
punk
, and
Sen Dog
stops by for a guest verse.
"Apocalypse Now"
isn't as effective -- its lyrical rage is empty, and the converted
drum'n'bass
backing track doesn't go anywhere. But the single
"Gangsters and Thugs"
is as oddly effective as the debut with its turntables and hedonism, organ drop-ins, and skittering percussion racket. "Gangsters and thugs/Criminals and hoods/Some of my friends sell records/Some of my friends sell drugs." And speaking of
,
B Real
appears on the dubby swagger
"Killafornia."
"What I Can't Describe"
appropriates vintage
soul
and Cali
G-funk
; it even features some raps from
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
The swaggering
"Madness"
sounds like a
Rancid
track recut to fit
' shadowy street-fighting sound -- while the hammering guitar and
's vocal part are pulled right from
, the theremin-and-keyboard breakdowns are strange flashbulbs from an alternate Golden State reality where it's always night and thugs drive around in jet-powered Packards.
suffers lyrically. Blood, guts, and I'll punch you (or worse) if you look my way -- that's about the size of it, particularly when
Aston
's on the mike. But the weird
Clash-isms
of
"American Guns"
"I Want It All"
's chopped-up rhythms and scratches work even though they shouldn't. It's all so blatantly postmodern. But the whole package ends up having this strangely alluring glimmer. It's like discovering California Babylon after being lost in suburbia. ~ Johnny Loftus