Blog: PopMatters

With ironic pop-punk mocking and earnest whining, Teenage Bottlerocket tries and fails to have it both ways. On They Came From the Shadows, Teenage Bottlerocket comes off as a group of smirking party animals. The band jokes its way through the bratty skate-park anthem "Skate or Die" and mock rock 'n' roll bravado on "Better Than Kiss". While those songs are infectious and obvious attempts at humor (the band claims "Detroit couldn't rock its way out of a paper bag" on the latter) the band is clearly at its best. Unfortunately, the...

• Teenage Bottlerocket - Skate Or Die