Left Alone are about as unfashionable as it gets nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing. But in terms of appealing to anyone who isn’t either a) a fan of Rancid clones or b) going through the difficult teenage phase where you sport a mohawk and pretend to be Tim Armstrong, it’s not going to be an easy task. I heard the band’s last album, also on Hellcat, and was left with the feeling the band borrowed way too much from The Clash and Rancid and didn’t really stamp enough of their own identity on the record. This self-titled album is similar – at times the band splash ska and country and a little sprinkling of Spanish sounds to make a difference but the originality factor never really comes into play.
So in a sense you will like this or hate it before you’ve even heard it. It’s predictable, yet not too bad for what it is. First single ‘Sad Story’ is indicative of the album as a whole; it sounds familiar but is catchy enough to keep you interested. ‘Bombs Away’, ‘Empty’ and ‘Wishing Well’ are decent enough too without having any kind of wow factor.
And while there are some more ‘punk’ songs scattered among the record I’m not convinced it is as diverse as the press release accompanying this CD will have you believe. If you like bands such as The Unseen, Rancid or, well, any of the Hellcat bands, this is something you need to hear. Personally that’s no longer really my thing and while this album is reasonably good for what it is, I don’t think I’ll be giving it too many more spins in the future.