Brian Grey and company are at it again with another Left Out album within a year of the release of the last album. This outing has a new drummer (in past albums drummers were Jesse Smith and Jim Chaffin) a new guitarist, and bassist Brent Kapling is here again from the last album. In case you all have been sleeping the past three years Left Out is a punk band with hardcore roots. Basically I call it old-school punk; gritty, raw, and not very poppy. The production is a little dirtier than the last and not garage-like as the first album was intended to be.
Good album, good punk rock, great lyrics but the only downfall to me is it's monotonous. Most of the songs sound similar (not necessarily a bad thing) they are all good songs just grow old a bit and 15 of em is a bit long when each song clocks in at around 3 minutes.
Brian and Brent share vocal and lyrical duties and topics cover many subjects, but the main theme is Christ meets you where you are at. No matter what you've done Christ loves you and has a place for you.
In the end this is a fun band, a fun album with fun music (which is what this band wants you to get into, fun).
7/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #78Reviewed by Doug Van PeltThis album finds Left Out recording at JPUSA's Tone Zone Studios. The environment sounds like it worked well for these goofballs. This is pure punk rock fun. Brian Gray and company have always done a good job of mixing the fun and nonsense with serious ministry lyrics. The first thing I like about this album is the production clarity (without sterilizing the material, if you know what I mean).…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Justin W. JonesBrian Grey is at it again. He's been in more bands than the Bulls have been in championships, and Left Out is his latest groovin' group made up of old school punks. The music and sometimes over-bearing vocals are by far the album's weakest parts. Every song is made up of the basic three chord progression, and only occasionally do they venture into melody. The best word to describe the music is…Similar sounding releases
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