Melodic punk legends from California Lagwagon are back with brand new full length album. Five years has passed since Hang and here are 12 new songs. I fell in love with this band like 20 something years ago when I first heard their Duh and Trashed albums. Throughout the years the guys perfected their metalic skatepunk played with technical perfection and precision along with Joey Cape´s distinct awesome voice to top it off. What I love also about this band is how they can create drama and atmosphere with their music, whether darker mood, sadness, melancholy or laughter. Stealing Light and especially Surviving California pick up where the band left off with the last album. Great a bit metalised riffs, catchy melody and fantastic guitar solo on the latter song make me smile and I know Lagwagon is back. Jini is a fast skatepunk song, reminding me of early bands and first three albums with its catchy and energetic melody. Parable is for me one of the best songs on this album with atmospheric intro and guest vocals by Joey´s daughter Violet and the acoustic ending with a lot of heartfelt drama and melody in the song itself. Bubble was chosen as first single and it is absolutely one of the highlights of the album with nostalgic lyrics and travel back in time song structure. Love this one, never enough of listening to this song. The Suffering is THE song of the album, I still get goosebumps only remembering the melody and Joey˙s voice and everything after that light intro. Dark Matter just rules with its darkened melody and harmonies, making me kinda sad while listening. Fan Fiction has a great lyric theme and sound a bit more mid tempo and rockish, but piano intro marks the start of another killer song called Pray For Them, fast song with gentle lyrics and this one literally brought tears to my eye remembering recent loss that we had endure. This album is by far for me the best Lagwagon album in the last 15 years or so.

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