ALBUM REVIEW: Gets Old – Diesel Boy
To say 22 years is a long time would be an obvious statement. A lot would have changed in the world, a long list of life events would have taken place and things may have progressed (or gone backwards) in society. Now imagine a band taking that time to release another record, sounds insane right? Well, that’s the case with DIESEL BOY who disbanded a year after the release of their 2001 record Rode Hard And Put Away Wet, and after two decades of abandoned reunion plans and an occasional performance, they are now officially back together with their brand new album Gets Old.
For a band to do this can be a risky move; will older fans remember them, and will new ones be interested? In this scenario, DIESEL BOY have nothing to worry about with a record that on the one hand is nostalgic, yet on the other feels mature; they’ve gone back to their roots in the style of skate punk they’re known for, but they have included elements that reflect them as they are now.
As the album opens with Lost Decade, no time is wasted in kicking things off with a pop-punk track that feels reminiscent of the 00s; it’s energetic yet feels slightly serious at the same time. DIESEL BOY may be unknown to some people, but through listening to this song they will realise that they influenced a lot of the artists they may listen to, as well as recognising the style of music done by pop-punk bands like BOWLING FOR SOUP during the same time period they were active.
Much of this album can be summed up as pure skate punk that should bring you back to your childhood and teenage years, where things were simple and you had almost no worries about responsibility. That’s not to say that the entire record sounds entirely the same as there are elements from rock ‘n’ roll, pop-rock, and punk rock in the mix. The band also show how modern rock has influenced them, particularly on a track like Viking Funeral which features a rather dark sounding intro before moving into fast punk, feeling somewhat reminiscent of a band like CREEPER in their debut era.
The band themselves were also known for wordplay back in the day, and this makes a happy comeback throughout the record with clever or some purely silly references in the titles and lyrics, such as Short And To The Point that feels like a reference to the length of a typical punk track, or Internet Girl that features modern references to online culture, (having said that though it is a rather dull song and, listen, if your crush is into NFTs then stay away, trust us).
Gets Old is nostalgic punk that brings you back 20 years, making you feel like not much has changed in the world in the best way. It’s just pure bliss and escapism; 20 years is a long time, but in this scenario, it was worth the wait.
Rating: 8/10
Gets Old is out now via SBAM Records.
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