Review Summary: A leopard can't change it's spots
Finally—we have the long, long, loooong overdue return of punk-rock legends Social Distortion with their new album Born To Kill. And when I say long overdue…. I was looking up notes for this and found a Mike Ness quote from 2011 promising it wouldn’t be another seven or eight years between albums… and here we are. Fifteen years later.
Now, if you’re a Social Distortion fan like me, you already know the vibe they’ve stuck to for decades. Their classic sound is this blend of punk, rock and roll swagger, blues, and that melancholic Americana that makes everything feel very nostalgic and often cinematic. Like it conjures imagery of dagger in heart tattoos, stints in county jails, riding a motorcycle and kissing your gal for the last time.
Born To Kill sticks very firmly to that formula. It’ll be instantly familiar to fans, almost to a fault as it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. The opening title track is easily the liveliest moment here— a fun, punchy, energetic number, and probably the track that’ll stick with you the most. From there, though, the album settles into a level that’s enjoyable, VERY listenable, but does feel pretty run-of-the-mill. Like the band are colouring inside the same lines they’ve drawn for themselves across their discography.
Other notable moments include:
“Crazy Dreamer” featuring Lucinda Williams, which leans more Country rock, and the cover Chris Isaak’s
“Wicked Game”, which the band have covered live for years and is nice to finally hear recorded. And also
“Never Going Back Again” which is a swinging piece of bar rock, a la Morrison Hotel era-Doors.
But unfortunately a lot of this is just soaked in far too much vague gen x sentimentalism for my blood – particularly on tracks literally called
"The Way Things Were". A decent enough song but hearing Mike sing so generically about
who we were and
how things were just made me want to shout HOW WERE THEY MIKE? What do you miss so much?? No specifics are given, just a feeling.
After a 15-year wait, it’s hard not to wish this was more adventurous or memorable. Instead, it’s perfectly enjoyable but ultimately uninspired—an album that feels more like an old family tabby than a fierce leopard roaring back to life.
