Foxboro Hot Tubs
Stop Drop and Roll!!!
Jingle Town Records
Web Site
Even as I write this, I have to keep telling myself, “Don’t be an asshole. Don’t be an asshole.”
You see, I purchased the new Green Day, err, Foxboro Hot Tubs album the other day and had a hell of time figuring out the packaging. No kidding! I actually got into a fight with the CD case. Now, I’m not going to give the disc a lower rating because I had to shelve the cardboard, mock-vinyl-record slipcase and paper sleeve, and in turn use a generic CD jewel case, but it’s just first impressions. The whole time I’m trying to get the disc back in the case, I’m wondering if the music can make up for this travesty.
Let’s start from the beginning, though. Late last year, a mysterious new band called Foxboro Hot Tubs popped up on the Internet and college radio. Immediately, bloggers began speculating that members of Green Day were involved in the project. Sure enough, the reverbed lead vocals unmistakably resembled those of Billie Joe Armstrong.
This music, however, is a noticeable change from the Green Day we know, love, and at times, hate (American Idiot, anyone?). So now, we’re at the point where this album, Stop Drop and Roll!!!, must not only make up for the aforementioned mess, but also the emo-political-bandwagon transformation Green Day took on with the last release.
Quite a task, and we haven’t even gotten to the tunes, which are at times vocally reminiscent of ‘50s rockabilly and almost always recalling the ‘60s British Invasion in one way or another. It’s nearly impossible not to imagine Ray Davies singing, “Girl, you really got me goin’ / You got me so I don’t know what I’m doin’,” whilst listening to Armstrong belt out, “Ya alligator, ya space invader / Ya swamp dweller makin’ your rounds.”
Between the thin cardboard sleeve—which is simply a poorly executed good idea—the disc itself masquerading as a beat-to-shit vinyl record and the short, garage-rock numbers, the whole little 32-minute offering accomplishes its mission: to bring back the good old days of rock ‘n’ roll when recording an LP was less an art and more in-your-face and to the point. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am!
One problem I have yet to get over is the greatness of the album’s single, “Mother Mary.” Why is this a problem, you ask? It’s got a Fratellis thing going on with the catchy hook, bouncy beat and the bah bah bahs … something the 11 other tracks don’t really even come close to revisiting. And trust me, I hate to be that shallow listener who latches on to the single and forgets the rest, but I can’t help but wonder why the rest of the album isn’t nearly as catchy.
There are plenty of aspects to appreciate, like “Red Tide” coming unabashedly close to the Kinks’ “Tired of Waiting For You,” or the perfect-end-credits-song in “Dark Side of Night.”
Strangely enough, for its flaws, Stop Drop and Roll!!! seems like the perfect commentary on today’s music. From the absence of an insert or lyrics sheet, to the one advertised song on the cover (“Contains 12 Hits Including… Mother Mary”), this recalls a time that emphasized the almighty 45 Single, not unlike today with the album-killing Download.
So, if we have a ‘60s comeback band, by my math we should have a new album in what—six months, tops? Don’t count on it…
I didn’t like American Idiot at all, but this was a refreshing step in the right direction for me. Even if they put it out under such a weird name.