New(ish) CD: Tim Armstrong's A Poet's Life

If this album had been recorded by anyone but Tim Armstrong, there's no way it would have been considered punk rock. Rather, it would have been considered what it is: one of the most important modern reggae albums to be released in years, and the CD on which the versatile Tim Armstrong comes full circle, from his early ska/reggae-inflected punk with underground legends Operation Ivy, to his work with the iconic street punk band Rancid, to his recent recordings with rap-punk outfit the Translators, and then back to this, his solo album, on which he combines elements of all these groups to create something more vital than much of what he has already accomplished. Armstrong reportedly released the record because "Rancid Punx have a streak...since 2000 [we] have released a new album every year", and for this, his first solo album, he chose to work with Los Angeles reggae unit the Aggrolites, a powerhouse of LA reggae musicians whose inspired music perfectly complements Armstrong's original compositions and artfully fleshes out his complex arrangements.

All the songs on this record were penned by Tim Armstrong, and lyrically they touch upon many of the same places Rancid and OP Ivy have in the past, such as the tales of jubilant debauchery in songs like the hip-hop-tinged "Oh No" ("There's gonna be lots of people getting high tonight/...I spend all my time chasing women around"), "Take This City" (Hittin' the city all night long/...Coming up, Work it up, Got a light?, Smoke it up, Zig-zag?, Roll it up."), and "Hold On" ("Fast women, cocaine and booze/The roughest of the roughest ain't got nothing to loose"). Rancid's lyrical influence is also very apparent in the stories of poverty and loneliness throughout the album, best exemplified in the brooding "Among the Dead"("It's California but it ain't sunny/And all my dreams came crashing down/I'm out on the streets, got no money/Got no band, ain't no one around"). However, Armstrong writes outside of his typical punk-rock lyrical mold on several songs, instead opting to write declarations of love and devotion, more common in reggae than punk rock. In the love-struck reggae number "Hold On", he sings as his chorus "I'm gonna hold on to you as long as I can/And if you choose to leave me girl, I'll understand/But I'm gonna hold on to you as long as I can", and in the anthemic "Translator" he takes the voice of a regretful lover, singing as his refrain "I only wanted what was best for you." There is also a surprising lack of political lyrics throughout this album, the most political of the songs being the catchy "Inner City Violence". Overall, Armstrong delivers his lyrics with calm and poise, and with little of the anger that was characteristic of former Armstrong vocalists Jesse Michaels and Lars Fredrickson.

The guitar-playing of Aggrolites members Jesse Wagner and Brian Dixon really shine on this disk, as they provide tasteful, melodic lead-lines as well as inspired rhythmic duets with organist Roger Rivas that serve to create liquid, kinetic musical texture underneath Armstrong's vocal. Their guitar playing is best used in calm reggae numbers like "Hold On" and "Translator", in which their melodic atmospheric playing serves to add new dimension to the songs. They are also allowed to shine as soloists in several places, giving their most memorable solos on the aforementioned "Hold On" and the jubilant reggae stomp "Take This City".

The first thing a listener hears when putting on this album is Armstrong's heavily reverb-ed voice demanding to know if we are "ready for this". After listening, I have to say yes. We've been ready for this for a long time, the record on which Tim Armstrong finally steps out of a band and displays his musical gifts on his own. Definitely find a way to get this album; it should be a pretty easy task since it is being offered for free download on Armstrong's Myspace page and on other services. Armstrong describes it as "our way of saying thanks, for all the support over the years."