Darker Days in Bloomington, MN

The second album by Los Angeles street punks
Time Again
follows exactly the precedent established by their debut:
Darker Days
is straight-up old-school hardcore with just enough of a pop edge on songs like
"Lines Are Faded"
and the less-than-sincere breakup song
"Movin' On"
to potentially appeal to the kids who think
Good Charlotte
is a punk band. The best songs here are the shortest and hardest, one- or two-minute hardcore blasts like
"You're Goin' Down"
and
"TV Static"
that bear the most influence of the days of early
Black Flag
Circle Jerks
. The more commercial songs are pleasantly tuneful, but even more faceless than by-the-numbers pogo fodder like
"Montreal (Street Kids)"
"Streetwalker."
It just seems odd that
has committed to this split-the-difference approach of trying to appeal to the Hot Topic crowd as well as the kids who think the Hot Topic crowd are pathetic poseur wannabes: the band is equally blandly competent at both styles of music, but the presence of one seems guaranteed to annoy the fans of the other. ~ Stewart Mason