Left Alone

Okay, I'm feeling a little left out when it comes to Left Alone; they've been around since 1996, but this is the first I've heard of them. Apparently front-man Elvis Cortez has been doing the D.I.Y. punk thing, releasing the band’s previous records on his own label, but this release has been issued on Hellcat Records, the label founded by Rancid's Tim Armstrong. Considering Left Alone's sound, it's a fine place for them to be. More than a trace of Rancid's straight-ahead street-punk and Operation Ivy's ska/punk fusion filter through the majority of their mid-tempo tunes. Lyrically most of the songs deal with busted up relationships as song titles like "Broke My Heart" and "Dead Red Roses" attest. My guess is that Elvis recently had his heart ripped out of his chest with a dull, rusty switchblade. Nothing new, nothing innovative, but that's not such a bad thing in this case. Catchy tunes and a fun record.