Unwritten Law - Here's To The Mourning

After the stripped-down acoustic pop of 2003’s Music in High Places, Unwritten Law’s back to rock, adding stadium-metal theatrics and bigger-than-big production to their sunny pop-punk on Here’s to the Mourning. Unfortunately, this is not really a good thing. Here is modern rock that sounds like it was written by an-out-of touch boardroom trying to reach target demographics--not, you know, a band. "Because Of You," the only song with a title more than one or two words long, is sonically a sweet take on the classic SoCal skatepunk sound. But it’s so daft lyrically ("My satisfaction lies in your hands girl"?) and musically (you’ve heard commercials for cleaning products that rock harder and are more complex), it sounds like a boy band trying to be "hard." A few tunes add acoustic guitars and electronic elements to the rawk; these attempts just make this late ‘90s nostalgia sound even more tired and old. Newcomers are encouraged to start with either Places or their debut, Blue Room. --Mike McGonigal