Should i just review the Social Distortion album now before i listen to it?

Social Distortion fans know what to expect from Mike Ness at this stage of the game: rock n’ roll tracks about hard luck, love, and drinking. The guy has been around the seediest parts of the seediest cities and lives his subject matters. The albums these days are a bit over-produced for some of the older fans, but this writer thinks that, hey, the addition of the organ certainly adds an element that makes the same old tune sound a bit more fresh.

Who will enjoy this album? Well, probably the increasingly chubby beer-swillers who used to go to lots of punk shows and now barely leave the house. Who will dislike this album? Anyone who disliked their 2004 effort, Sex, Drugs, & Rock n’ Roll.

Mike Ness may wear eyeliner, but he can still cut a solid record. The year may be young, but this has got to be the best album released so far in 2011.

(Epitaph Records, 2798 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026)