Unwritten Law: Here's To The Mourning : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The last album from these veteran skate punks was an unplugged performance recorded in Yellowstone National Park as part of MTV's "Music in High Places" concert series. The setting exposed the band's thinner songs, but it also might have primed Unwritten Law for Here's to the Mourning, which finds them turning out high-impact barnburners with just enough pop quirks to distinguish the band from its SoCal brethren.

For the lead single, "Save Me," Unwritten Law sensibly called in song doctor Linda Perry, who helps translate their angst into an OC-worthy loser anthem. Elsewhere, Unwritten Law turn to oi-style chants ("F.I.G.H.T."), sunny, multitracked harmonies ("Walrus") and sleazy Velvet Revolver-esque choruses ("I Like the Way"). There's a meat-and-potatoes quality to Here's to the Mourning, but it's more filling than much of the band's previous work.