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CD REVIEW: Lost City Angels find rhythm on debut
By: Amber Lanphier - U-WIRE
September 17th 2002 7:21pm
(U-WIRE) HOUSTON -- What would you get if you took a band of five street punks from New England and added a former Mighty Mighty Bosstone to help produce an album? The band Lost City Angels might be able to answer this. Forming in 2001, "Lost City Angels," which began playing local clubs and bars in Boston, developed a legion of fans. Soon after, they began working on their eight-track demo. After hearing the demo, Nate Albert, a former guitar player and songwriter for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, decided to produce Lost City Angels' debut album, which resulted in the band signing with the California-based label Nitro Records. The band's sound is described as a mixture of punk fury and rock 'n' roll power. Lost City members claim to be hardened by the bitter streets of where they grew up. This concept comes into play when you listen to their strangely powerful self-titled debut album. From the start of the CD the band -- which includes Nick Bacon and Drew Indingaro on guitar, Adam Shaw on drums, and Duggan on bass, play ferociously to the lyrics of lead singer Ron Ragona. The third track titled "Edge of 21" is about the amusement of drinking that any barfly or frat boy could appreciate. The sweet and sincere anthem, "If You Go," could effortlessly go to the top of the alternative rock charts. "Lost & Gone" totally rocks out and reminds me of some of the people in high school that never got the memo that it ended. My favorite track on the CD is the beautiful punk ballad, "Caught In Time." The song basically talks about pulling yourself out of the hole you're in and moving on. I love the line, "On the rebound from reality / He has no friends to break his fall." The best thing about Lost City Angels is that they leave out the cheese factor that so many popular "punk" bands have today. The band is solid when it comes to playing its instruments and Ragona's voice is unique and angst-ridden. The band sounds like what the Ramones and Social Distortion would sound like if they ever had a jam session together (wouldn't that have been awesome). Although the lyrics could use some depth, this band is generally really good. I predict that by its second or third album, it will be everyone's favorite new band. You can catch Lost City Angels playing in the Warped Tour.
(C) 2002 The Daily Cougar via U-WIRE
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