Swingin' Utters with Youth Brigade: BYO Split Series Volume II

Punk never gets old, as this split recording proves. It pairs two influential punk bands of different eras: Youth Brigade has been recording since the early '80s, and the Swingin' Utters exploded in the '90s. This combination of young and old may be expected to do one or more of three things: demonstrate the pathetic qualitative dichotomy between respected "old school" punk and vapid new punk; determine just how far "old school" bands have declined even though they persist in churning out the same old clichés; or just provide an overall unpleasant musical experience that spawns more crotchety, tired arguments about the current state of the genre. One's gut reaction to a new Youth Brigade album is much like most people's reaction to the latest Rolling Stones album: "Ack, are these guys still at it?" But lo and behold, this album does not disappoint.

In addition to strong musicianship, the sound is driving and controlled, airy and intense. The Swingin' Utters straddle the angry-music gamut, from the charmingly impious "Angels Pissing on your Head" to an acoustic pub-rock anthem with Gaelic leanings and a violin solo. And the Utters are not even afraid to expose their soft side—these crafty young men have wriggled out of their creativity-stifling punk label, pushing their musical potential until their style bursts at the seams with energy. Sometimes they sand the edges off rough chords for a more dynamic milieu, and sometimes they rub ordinary punk melodies raw to charge their classic—and rather static—punk influences with an electrifying, primal lustiness.

Their predecessors, Youth Brigade, build on the Utters' momentum with a striking maturity that is increasingly hard to find in a scene sorely lacking innovation. The signature chugga-chugga of powerful riffs moving at a fist-flailing pace underscores pensive, subtly nostalgic lyrics about enraged youth and social ills. Nearly 20 years after Youth Brigade helped define American punk with legendary anthems like "Sink with California," the graying ensemble is still at it—still setting the haphazard underground of youth culture to a loud and memorable tune. (BYO)

—Michelle Chen

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