Rockfreaks.net

Diesel Boy

Gets Old

Written by: PP on 13/12/2023 22:07:46

Well here's one probably nobody else than the band expected: a new goddamn Diesel Boy album. "Gets Old" is their first album in twenty-two years after going on hiatus following 2001's "Rock Hard And Put Away Wet", so a history lesson may be in order here. Diesel Boy released a string of melodic punk albums during the late 90s that earned them seminal status within the punk rock scene. Think signature-style punk from that era where you could essentially nutshell it as part Lagwagon, part NUFAN, part NOFX, part Swingin' Utters, and part Vandals. Throw in a band of your choice active on Epitaph or Fat Wreck during those years and you'd be good.

Like most other bands from that era, they don't take themselves too seriously. They open the record with "Lost Decade" singing "Is it a reunion / If no one cared we were gone or that we're back? [...] We sold our beloved van / Some of us joined new bands / Marriages and mortgages / Oh, and we found Topher and Chad / Call us a tribute act". It's funny 'cause it's true: despite their cult nature, they never quite reached similar commercial success as the biggest bands in the genre, so it's great to see them address it through some spot-on, light-hearted self-irony. They even have modem sounds to start "Internet Girl".

Humour in general is in heavy use throughout the record. The NOFX-style "Corpse Paint Blues" is essentially a tribute to Norwegian black metal, "The Finnish Line" is all about Finland with references to their alcohol types, bands, and even our version of baseball, and "Viking Funeral" is about how Vikings were sent off back in the day. Not sure what's with the Noridcs obsession here, but it's funny nevertheless.

Diesel Boy was always rowdier and more unpolished than the rest of the pop punk scene back then, instead relying on heavier riffs and raspier vocals than, say, Ingemar Jansson of No Fun At All fame. They're still catchy, but perhaps less obviously so than many of the other bands mentioned in this review so far. But if you're into the 90s-style punk scene, "Gets Old" is a must-listen even if it's not the release to catapult the band to the forefront of the scene. If anything, it's a quintessentially Diesel Boy release, a thank-you note of sorts to any fans still listening.

Download: Lost Decade, Dirty Dishes, The Turk, Corpse Paint Blues
For the fans of: Lagwagon, The Vandals, No Use For A Name, NOFX, Good Riddance, Screeching Weasel, No Fun At All
Listen: Facebook

Release date 28.07.2023
SBÄM Records