Barbara by The Beach

The Briggs come from the punk school of bands like the Clash, Rancid and Dropkick Murphys. So it should come as no surprise that brothers Jason LaRocca and Joey LaRocca conjure up large, meaty singalong choruses with tight punk riffs throughout. There's a lot of energy and intensity held in each ditty, especially with the rousing "Let Them Know" that is sure to cause spilled beer and a great deal of fist-pumping. From there, they take some of the sonic fat away for the enjoyable and lean "Song of Babylon" that sounds like a classic Social Distortion number. Perhaps the song that sounds eerily like Rancid circa Life Won't Wait is "Maritime Tragedies," while at the same time, the group slows things down somewhat for a punchy, angular "Everyone's an Actor" that puts them more in line with a group like Franz Ferdinand. But that's an exception to the feel-good, shin-splint inducing "Wasting Time" that is of a similar ilk as Green Day's "The Grouch." Back to Higher Ground rarely falls off the rails, with crisp, polished, radio-friendly gems coming in the form of "Insane" that sounds like a long-lost cousin of "I Fought the Law." The intensity is lacking, though, for Harder to Stand which is a rather routine punk rock or power pop tune. Fortunately, that's quickly forgotten when the infectious "Blacklist" comes along. ~ Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide