FAce-to-face-M-Review-No26FACE TO FACE

Three Chords and a Half Truth

[Rise]

Anyone craving a bite of ’90s punk should be moderately satiated by this California quartet’s eighth studio album and second since reforming in 2008 after a four-year hiatus. The Face to Face sound circa 2013 is nearly indistinguishable from that of 20 years ago, even if it lacks the rawness heard on classics like “Disconnected” and “I Used to Think.” Still, frontman Trever Keith hasn’t lost his sarcasm. On “Right as Rain,” for example, the music is upbeat, but once Keith digs in with “You couldn’t care about me any less,” you know it’s more a punk-rock pity party than a hard-rock romance. As always, Keith’s vocals recall Social Distortion’s Mike Ness and Bad Religion’s Greg Graffin, and guitarist Chad Yaro still blends power chords with the best of them. But the album lacks true rage. With its overly drawn-out vocals and slick instrumentation, Three Chords feels only halfway there. –Shauna Farnell

 

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