Each sum is stronger than its whole. Is that how it goes?
The Transplants self-titled debut album from Hellcat Records delves betwixt musical genres with results that seemed welcome to the Bakersfield audience on their first leg of the tour with the Foo Fighters.
The Transplant trio comprises punk veteran Tim Armstrong, of the Rancid and Op Ivy ilk, playing guitar in a musical experiment that tests the constraints of any preconceptions about punk with this record. Armstrong shares vocal duties with newcomer and friend Rob Aston.
Aston’s screaming, rap style is reminiscent of Necro, but not as morbidly violent and drug-addled.
And to top it off, they’ve got a famous drummer, Travis Barker of Blink-182 infamy, who notably finished all the drum tracks in five hours.
Their songs attempt a fusion of clashing punk guitars with Aston’s angry white L.A.-gangster raps on “Romper Stomper.” It crosses genres so readily, but not always with the best results.
On “Tall Cans in the Air,” described by Aston as a party song, he extols the joys of pounding twice the frothy crisp brew of a normal can. Maybe we’ll see it in a beer commercial in the near future.
You might also have heard their hit single “Diamonds and Guns,” a number with a catchy yet monotonous blues piano loop mixed with slurry vocal marmalade from Armstrong and the choleric, nervous raps of Aston.
It can be found on the likes of MTV2 and the wonderfully produced Garnier tropical shampoo commercials.
Many of the slower reflective and melancholic songs have a similar musical pattern.
Songs such as “Sad But True” and “We Trusted” resemble the Clash in the “London Calling” era, as Armstrong resonates the vocal crone of the late Joe Strummer.
The more rap-influenced tracks, such as “D.R.E.A.M.,” capture catchy, funky, synthesized beats care of Armstrong while Aston retools the Wu-Tang cover in his nefarious and controlling world of drugs.
The strange thing is when I first heard this album, I tried to instinctively find something to compare it against.
Oddly enough, I had heard a compilation of local musicians from Chico and the band that stood out was El Diablo. Their amateur experiments in hip-hop, bass and drum beats, and thrash metal produce a model edgier and simpler in design, yet not intentionally.
The Transplants, on the other hand, have failed to capture the fickle nature of splicing music genres to produce a uniquely satisfying record.
I felt that during the Transplants’ live show, any musical distinctions they tried on this record were totally obscured. Or maybe their combinations and musical controversies will turn lethal. I suggest that you just listen to it first.