Review Summary: Teri Yakimoto is an exceptional album by Guttemrouth that contains more melody and poppiness.
Guttermouth's debut on Nitro in 1994 led to the band growing popular in the SoCal punk scene...and also growing infamous at the same time for their lyrics and crazy stage performances. In 1996, Guttermouth released their 3rd album on Nitro, Teri Yakimoto. Arguably one of their better records, Teri Yakimoto shows Guttermouth developing their sound just a tad more and gaining more fame...and infamy.
The lineup remains intact, with the exception of bassist Clint "Cliff" Weinrich being replaced by Steve "Stever" Rapp after Weinrich left the band following his wedding. I'm not sure if his leaving helped with the sound on Teri Yakimoto, but Rapp plays pretty much identically to Cliff.
Guttermouth's sound has developed some on this record. The album is less abrasive on Mark Adkins vocals, and the sound is more pop punk influenced. Perhaps this sound change has to do with the band growing older, for many of the members had just reached 30 at this point. Bands like The Offspring and No Use for a Name are prime examples of punk bands that get older gain more melody and poppiness. However, I am not complaining on this sound, and this is the sound that Guttermouth is known mainly for.
The album opens with "Use Your Mind", which sounds like an outtake off of Friendly People, for its sound is more aggressive. Guttermouth telling its listeners to use their mind? Kind of ironic. Other than the solid opener, the album goes into more pop punk territory.
Lyrically, the album is of course, similar to the band's past releases. Adkins rants about his hatred of hippies, vegetarians and all things politically correct. "Trinket Trading, Tick Toting, Toothless, Tired Tramps...or the 7 T's" is a ridiculously detailed rant on the hippie lifestyle, and almost comes off as a rant that would be produced by some old guy from the 1960's. "Mark's Ark" is a song mocking vegetarians, as the band has been doing since their inception.
Other lyrics are quite begging for some controversy. "Generous Portions" is about drug use, and "Casserole of Life" and "Thought Provoking Sonic Device" make several references jokingly glorifying criminal acts and disobeying authority. Gambling is another theme, for their are 2 songs that deal with this subject matter, "I Saw the Light" and "God's Kingdom." I guess Adkins was going through a gambling obsession or something.
Musically, the album is standard Guttermouth, with more pop punk oriented riffing. "A Day at the Office" and the very catchy "Whiskey" are exceptional tracks that describe this style. Other than that, its the same old Guttermouth with a new bass player. "Under the Sea" is a silly joke song that is a fun closure.
Teri Yakimoto is a good album, and one of Guttermouth's finest. Its fast paced, catchy and memorable. There is a more definitive pop punk sound, but it still sounds like the good old Guttermouth people remembered.
