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Unwritten Law

The Hit List (2007)
Rocket Science

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Contributed by: Brian
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on January 19th 2007

Sort of in the vein of MxPx's 2002 retrospective Ten Years and Running, long-running skatepunks-turned-radio-rock-slobs Unwritten Law offers up 17 songs spanning their entire catalog in completely re-recorded form, along with two new ones. Think of The Hit List as the band playing lots of fan favorites at a current show, but cleaned up by studio production. Yeah, I'm basically that mixed about this thing.

First, the new tunes. "Shoulda Known Better"'s verses, like the band's last abomination, are repulsive, laying down embarrassingly rapped lines surrounding a snarling, vaguely Billy Idol-esque chorus. Needless to say it doesn't open The Hit List strongly, but "Welcome to Oblivion" picks things up a little; it has a big but not overacting chorus and the song is overall thankfully more reminiscent of the sharp pop-rock of 2002's Elva.

Obviously, the re-recordings of the band's more recent material ("Celebration Song," "Save Me," "Seein' Red," etc.) do not sound entirely different from their original versions, but in this context are much easier to intake -- in fact, despite glossy studio tinge, are somewhat enjoyable because of the inclusion of the band's better album cuts. What is a little strange is to hear 2007's Unwritten Law performing tracks now growing old in their stable of songs. It's obviously a little disappointing to hear what fans regard as classics ("Superman") stripped of their raw energy, but the consistent production makes the album rather linear, "correcting" the inevitable annoyance of the compilation "habit" that provides the listener with Mark Trombino one moment and Mark Tincan the next.

Unfortunately, The Hit List is hard to recommend as a starting point for one looking for an overview from which to reap the benefits of the band's back catalog, as they're obviously going to find a much different recording style from a much "less privileged" era upon discovering the actual album a song is "interpreted" from. However, fans having stuck with the band through their evolution should be rather psyched to receive such a consistent and generally enjoyable, generously wide-spanning compilation.

The Hit List proves Unwritten Law has assuredly morphed into a sometimes capable pop-rock unit with shades of `90s punk influence, and that despite an awful recent misstep, there's some hooks left in the tacklebox that haven't dulled quite yet -- and some others that can still be reused after all.

STREAM
Shoulda Known Better
Up All Night
Cailin
Superman

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Anonymous (January 25, 2007)

this cd is fucking amazing..i love everything about it,..this guy who reviews is full of shiit!

the_ken_chin_imposter (January 23, 2007)

I heard CD has between song segways by Tarzan Dan.

Anonymous (January 22, 2007)

I love the re-recorded versions of the Oz Factor and Blue Room songs!! I would have liked to see more! And I don't see why they needed to re-record the songs from the self-titled album, those songs were already great!

Anonymous (January 22, 2007)

im going to see unwritten law soon for old times sake, and there playing with pluss 44 which will be my closest atempt to see blink 182. at least 2 thirds anyway, i wish unwritten law went back to there skate punk days

Anonymous (January 21, 2007)

awful, that should have known better is complete trash, sounds like they are trying to be linkin park or somethinf? couldn't listen to anything else

aaronfromsweden (January 21, 2007)

This album definetly deserves a higher score in my humble opinion. Not every band takes the time to actually re-record all the songs they're putting up on their best of-comp. I love these re-recordings!! Better sound quality, and some of the songs are (if possible) even better than the originals. Love it!

Anonymous (January 20, 2007)

Same guy from below. Does anyone else notice the similarities between "How You Feel" and "D'yer Maker?"

Anonymous (January 20, 2007)

I really like the re-recorded songs. They sound great. Snicker all you want, but UL were one of the first punk bands I got into back in junior high. Blue Room and Oz Factor are the shit. I'll always have a place for them. Props.

Anonymous (January 20, 2007)

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha

Anonymous (January 20, 2007)

The self-titled is an essential album. I had a dream the other night about some shitty emo band covering "Coffin Text." No lie.

SilentStorms (January 20, 2007)

I used to love this band during the early 00's, but their new shit was just that ... complete shit. I think I moved past these guys when I started hating pop-punk. Good review though!