Face to Face: Laugh Now, Laugh Later (2011)

2011 must be the year of veteran punk bands releasing their first album in many years. Not only did we get excellent new albums from Screeching Weasel (even though they broke up again about a month after it's release) and the Swingin' Utters, we now get the first album in 9 years from Face To Face. Laugh Now, Laugh Later isn't the strongest album the band has ever released but it's far from an embarrassment. Even if it only exists as an excuse to tour, that's a good enough reason for me. "Should Anything Go Wrong," "It's Not All About You," "All For Nothing," "The Invisible Hand" and "Bombs Away" are all fine skate-punk songs with Trevor Keith's half sung half shouted vocals and a barrage of melodic "whoa's" from the rest of the band. In other words there's nothing new being brought to the table and the sound is firmly planted in the late 90's (this is a good thing for veteran punk bands). On the downside there are too many tracks that have forgettable melodies and since most of them are located on the second half of the album, Laugh Now, Laugh Later is pretty top heavy. Ultimately, while it's far from their best work, Laugh Now, Laugh Later should be good enough to keep long time Face To Face fans happy.

Rating: 3

Track Listing:

1. "Should Anything Go Wrong" (3:05)
2. "It's Not All About You" (3:02)
3. "The Invisible Hand" (3:04)
4. "Bombs Away" (3:00)
5. "Blood in the Water" (3:43)
6. "What You Came For" (3:13)
7. "I Don't Mind and You Don't Matter" (3:42)
8. "Stopgap" (4:33)
9. "All For Nothing" (3:07)
10. "Pushover" (2:28)
11. "Under the Wreckage" (3:03)