Sometimes, bands just need to hang it up.

Case in point: the Mad Caddies. This California sextet has been kicking around the scene for more than just a few years, dropping 3 full lengths and 1 EP on the world before this, their newest offering. Now I've always been a fan of the Caddies, but even as a fan I can readily admit that the band peaked with "Duck And Cover" and the subsequent "The Holiday Has Been Cancelled" EP. "Quality Softcore" had some good songs but was iffy overall, and the group's last disc, "Rock The Plank," was unmemorable at best. So like I said before, some bands just need to hang it up.

There is absolutely no new ground being tread on the Caddies' fourth full-length. The mellow ska ["Drinking For 11"] has been done before. The fast punk with "let's get fucked up!" lyrics ["Contraband" and "Riot"] has been done before. The slow jams ["Spare Change?"] have been done before. The dixieland-influenced tracks ["Last Breath"] have been done before. Basically, this band is all out of ideas.

That doesn't necessarily mean they can't still sound fresh and exciting by recycling old ideas; it just means they *don't* sound fresh and exciting. When I was 16, this stuff would just slay me. But this CD just feels like I've aged whereas the Caddies have stayed in a rudeboy time capsule for the last 5 years or so, only being released every 1 1/2 years to write more of the same ol', same ol'.

It pains me to tell you not to buy this, as the Mad Caddies were one of the first bands I ever really got into. But if you own any other Caddies release [especially "Duck and Cover" or "The Holiday Has Been Cancelled"], you've already heard all these songs in a better form. Pass.

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Villains