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Album review: Another Damn Disappointment – ‘Bedlam’

By Alex Goose

The Californian melodic punks' fourth record is a triumph over adversity!

As we mentioned in our recent review of the new Dutch Nuggets album, the 90s Epitaph/Fat Wreck skate punk sound has made quite the comeback, and you can add Californian quintet Another Damn Disappointment to the list of veteran bands breathing new life into the genre. Plus, with arguably one of the best band names out there, how couldn’t we at least give their record a quick listen? Well, we just about know the thing inside out by now, and there are plenty of good reasons why.

They’re certainly a versatile bunch – that much is clear early on. ‘All’ is initially reminiscent of Bad Religion, complete with vocal harmonies, before the band show their metallic side with some ace thrash-speed riffing and Dave Lombardo-esque kick drumming. ‘Yesterday’ has a super-catchy guitar line, and it’s hard to resist the urge to bounce as a melodic easycore breakdown kicks in towards the end. New Found Glory with a sore throat? Oh, go on then – frontman Joshua Thompson does have a slight raw edge to his voice, which is no bad thing.

And my goodness, do they share NFG’s knack for an addictive tune. No, there’s nothing on ‘Bedlam’ that takes skate punk into uncharted territory, but the quality control is excellent throughout. ‘Runnin’ Dry’ is apparently an ode to the joys of aging, with some amusingly self-deprecating lyrics (“another year fatter, but what does it matter?”), but they also bring out the righteous vitriol in style on ‘Nation Full Of Zombies’ and ‘American Demise’ (you can probably guess the subject matter). 

In fact, much of this record is the result of ADD taking a good hard look around, not especially liking what they see, and delivering the message with urgency and – in the case of ‘Lights Go Out’ – an anthemic twist that demands audience participation. Those upcoming shows are going to be off the hook.

They build up one hell of a momentum over the record, but leave a couple of surprises at the end. ‘You Take The Pain’ is a slower paced number with a great hands-in-the-air chorus, seemingly custom built to give a frenzied pit a mid-set chance to regain their breath, whilst ‘I’m Alright’ has an almost Dylan-esque folk vibe to it – all acoustic guitar, mandolin and harmonica. It sounds lived; a whole load of late-night drives in battered tour vans put into song, and it makes for a great finale.

Incidentally, ADD have a better reason than most for leaving such a long gap between studio albums: namely, the sad death of bassist (and founder member) Casey Marsullo in a car accident in 2016. Understandably shaken and conflicted, they ultimately decided that Casey would have wanted them to carry on, and they can rest assured that he’d be proud of them (not damn disappointed!) and what they’ve created in ‘Bedlam’. Welcome back, guys.

‘Bedlam’ will be released on April 21st on Disappointed Records;  order the CD or vinyl HERE 

  1. The Lads Intro
  2. All
  3. Yesterday
  4. Heart Attack
  5. Stand Alone
  6. Ragin’ Cajun
  7. Runnin’ Dry
  8. All The Way Down
  9. Nation Full Of Zombies
  10. Lights Go Out
  11. Cobb Magee
  12. American Demise
  13. Ignition
  14. You Take The Pain
  15. I’m Alright
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