The Lawrence Arms "Oh! Calcutta!" (Fat Wreck Chords)
By Pete Mittler
Thursday. Mar 30, 12:11 AM
Beloved Chicago trio gets punk again.

If you didn't know that The Lawrence Arms are from Chitown, one look at the cover of Oh! Calcutta!, with its doctored version of the Chicago flag, should make it pretty obvious. These guys seem to be one of those bands that people either love or hate. If you're already a fan, you'll love this album. I personally think that it is the best record they've put out to date (although I don't own Apathy and Exhaustion). In the past, you had Brendan's punkier songs and Chris' more emo/alternative approach, each singing their own compositions. On this album, however, they both seem a bit more pissed than on The Greatest Story Ever Told, and they share lead vocals for the most part, making it harder to tell who wrote which song, which I think is pretty cool. There are even times when the two are almost indistinguishable from each other. They're a full-on punk band again. Of course, all of the same elements from before are still present, but now they sound like they're on the brink of total self implosion. They've also managed to throw in some Hank Williams / country influences that I haven't heard on any of their previous works, especially on the bonus track that tears a new asshole into that terrible summer event that all the kiddies seem to love – but that anyone over the age of 19 can see right through as a giant corporate suckfest – Warped Tour.

The only negative thing I can say about Oh! Calcutta! is that a few of the vocal patters are similiar to each other, almost as if they were written around the same time and the songwriters were just in a particular groove. Other than that, this is a pretty solid album. Even if you're not a fan, I would still say that if you know someone with a copy, give it a listen. It might take a spin or two, but you might like Oh! Calcutta! better than anything the band has ever done.
www.thelawrencearms.net
www.fatwreck.com

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Pete Mittler

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