Various Artists

And Out Come The Lawsuits (2021)

Mike Elfers

Rancid's legendary punk album …And Out Come The Wolves recently celebrated a 25th anniversary, and what better way to salute the nineteen anthems than a complete reimagination from punk and ska greats with And Out Come The Lawsuits.

Stay Wild slashes the cover album open with an excellent, high energy rendition of "Maxwell Murder," which rolls into a lo-fi recording of "The 11th Hour" by Little Debbie and the Crusaders. The shift of sonic quality is a common pattern of the release, and a fun representation of the DIY upbringings of the Rancid discography. Get Married's "Roots Radicals" is a no-nonsense punk cover, but Mississippi swamp's Flying Raccoon Suit delivers a fantastic ska cover of "Time Bomb," opening the gates for a lot of really good ska outfits on the compilation. Link 80's "Junkie Man," Matamoska's "Listed M.I.A.," and Worriers "Old Friend," paired with Raccoon Suit, are easily the highest points of the record.

As imagined, the "big-shoes" songs are filled as confidently as can be attempted. "Olympia, WA" by the Hammerbombs is decent, the bass player from Sarchasm gets about as close as you can get to "Journey to the End of the East Bay," and Pretty Frankenstein's grungy shoe-gazer version of "Ruby Soho" is clever. Working with classics has its difficulties, but kudos to the contributors for completing the tracklisting.

The comp rounds out with some lo-fi indie rounds of "Daly City Train" by Matt Moua, "You Don't Care Nothin'" by Schoolbus Driver, "The Wars End" by Angelboy and the Halos, and "Avenues & Alleyways" by Adult School. Vantana Row created a bizarre crust-techno take on "She's Automatic," featuring two minutes of shrill screaming and peaking 808 beats, it is certainly something.

With the rest of the cracks filled with some standard punk covers, And Out Come The Lawsuits is a fantastic collection of homages, tasty ska gems, and a great bottoms up to a punk masterpiece.