THE ARROGANT SONS OF BITCHES - THREE CHEERS FOR DISAPPOINTMENT - RED VINYL

Before Jeff Rosenstock became an acclaimed solo artist and before he led the ska/punk/indie/pop/etc collective Bomb the Music Industry, he fronted the ska-punk band The Arrogant Sons of Bitches. ASOB was already starting to fizzle out by the mid-2000s, and Jeff had begun dedicating his time to BTMI, but they eventually managed to finally finish and release one last album, Three Cheers for Disappointment, which had been in the making for about five years. And thank god they finally finished it, because it’s one of the best albums Jeff ever made. If you’re someone who got into Jeff Rosenstock more recently through his solo work and you’re wondering where else in his huge back catalog to start exploring, this album wouldn’t be a bad place to start. As more of a punk record than most of Bomb the Music Industry’s stuff, it’s more similar to his current solo work than BTMI is. And as far as high-speed ska-punk goes, ASOB mastered it as well as Op Ivy, The Suicide Machines, Catch-22, or any of the other greats in this style. Like those bands, it’s undeniably and unapologetically ska, but it’s very much a punk and sometimes even hardcore record. Like Catch-22, ASOB always seem to be playing faster than they should be, but always sound impossibly tight. Like Op Ivy and The Suicide Machines, there are times ASOB are pulling directly from early ’80s hardcore, but they always make it work within the context of fun, catchy, upbeat ska songs. And Jeff Rosenstock may have only recently started to get critical acclaim for his lyrical wit, infectious melodies, and explosive delivery, but he had all of that in spades as far back as this record. Its reputation might’ve been hindered by how long it took to release (2006 wasn’t a very good year to put out a ska record), but most who hear it agree: it rivals just about anything from ska-punk’s ’90s heyday.