I loved the first few seven-inches from these guys. Their Red Scare debut, Total, was pure gold. The follow up, Warning Device, showcases some of my favorite songs from their entire discography. But their last full-length? You know, their first Fat Wreck effort? I couldn’t get into it. It felt…different. Of course, the dudes who wrote the song A-Bomb were now all grown up, and were now writing and recording songs for a Fat debut. But, still, shouldn’t I like it? I probably should have. But I didn’t.

I remember doing an interview with the band for issue #34 of the bi-monthly Razorcake print magazine (what issue are they on now…61?) when Total first came out, and now that all seems like ages ago. It had seemed like my love of their brand of pop-punk was left behind in that early era.

But alas, what is this? A new Fat Wreck offering, and it’s good? Nay, fantastic? Oh yes, the boys are back to doing what they do best, delivering punchy, punky pop songs that make you wanna groove! The cover is a black and white bondage photo showing ’50s-looking ladies in a spank-a-thon, and the record inside has two new gems and one cover.

It would appear that the folks at Fat went to long time friends at Epitaph and got some licensing out of the way for their most recent seven-inch records. Just like the new Cobra Skulls EP, this slab of vinyl also features a Bad Religion cover.

(Fat Wreck Chords, 444 Townsend St. #2, San Francisco, CA 94107)