Unwritten Law

There’s trouble when the only crowd noise that breaks through on a live album is a collection of teenage girls freaking out for the obvious hit. In other words, one would be hard-pressed to call the radio-friendly, pabulum version of punk rock that SoCal’s Unwritten Law have been churning out for a decade enduring, incendiary or motivating. Still, they do know how to create a solid live performance via ebb and flow, as evidenced on this 17-track CD/22-track DVD pairing. Simplistic and straightforward, their tunes rely heavily on sing-along melodies and bare bones musicianship. That has translated into a few recognizable tracks such as "Up All Night,” "Save Me (Wake Up Call)” and "Seein’ Red,” all of which are perfectly performed here and captured with brilliant clarity. While most music fans with a modicum of self-respect would do well to avoid this infectiously poppy drivel, at least the guilty pleasure lot and flavour-of-the-week kiddies will have a great live album packed with songs that virtually mirror their studio counterparts.