January 2, 2001 - The Expendables and No Time To Worry

Happy New Year! Three weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when The Expendables released their debut album "No Time To Worry" on January 2, 2001. But who are The Expendables? They are a five-piece rock/reggae band consisting of Adam Patterson (drums, vocals), Ryan DeMars (bass), Cam Hanson (rhythm guitar), Raul Bianchi (lead guitar) and Geoff Weers (lead vocals, guitar). The Expendables play an interesting combination of your typical reggae music mixed with rock that can go anywhere from soft and space-y, to fast and punk-y. It's an interesting combination for sure, let's see what The Expendables are all about!

The album kicks off with "Malibu" and they dive right into a catchy and fast-paced reggae chorus riff and both Weers and Patterson sing the repetitive but catchy chorus. The verse is pretty quiet and typically reggae and Weers sings a fast verse that sounds good overtop. He sings pretty quickly and while his voice is certainly nothing too special, it sounds light and breezy, and therefore pretty perfect for this style. Bianchi plays a short little guitar solo, but it's pretty tame. This song is short and pretty repetitive, but it's a good intro into what Expendables are about. Up next is "Fire Starter" and it's got another simple but catchy reggae riff to start, but things quickly (and somehow pretty smoothly) ramp into a hard rock riff with some nice fast drums by Patterson and some cool guitars! The chorus is full-on punk-rock as things are now flying furiously and sound pretty good while Weers sings a slow chorus overtook that somehow fits pretty nicely. Bianchi gets another chance to solo and this one is pretty cool with some nice faster stuff that carries right into the final chorus. This song wasn't nearly as accessible or catchy as the first song, but I liked this harder side of The Expendables and they made the clash between punk-rock and reggae work pretty well! Track 3 is "Sinsemillia" and I guess it shouldn't be surprising that a reggae band wrote a song that's all about marijuana! Bianchi plays some cool guitar to lead the way and the other guitarists form a solid, fast-paced reggae beat behind it and things sound pretty catchy and cool. The chorus is just Weers repeating "I said smoke, smoke, smoke. Smoke that sinsemillia" and the title of the song is about a particularly psychoactive kind of weed! Weers leads a couple catchy verses singing about getting high and then things take a turn and start to ramp up. Weers sings a cool new part that is pretty funny and this sets the stage for a pretty cool solo by Bianchi! More funny vocals follow the solo and I love how much fun it sounds like these guys are having making this music. They close it out with one final,smooth chorus and if you like smoking huge joints and reggae music, it's kinda hard not to like this song! A cool weed anthem! The next track is "Sucks To Be You" and it's led by a space-y kind of reggae riff that has a sort of half echo to it snd things sound a little trippy and cool. Weers sings lightly overtop at first, then the pace picks up and things sound cool as they move right into a punk-rock chorus! This comes out of nowhere as they speed off with some punk-y guitars and drums and these are three very different parts going on in this song! Yet somehow things flow nicely from slow and reggae, to upbeat reggae, to full-on rock! It's a little repetitive, but I liked it still! Track 5 is a short song called "Irie Skankin" and it sounds like a joke song at first with a bit of a funny guitar riff, but then Bianchi takes off with some pretty cool guitar! This song is a minute and a half instrumental, and they manage to fit lots of cool stuff into this short little showtune! The end of it flows right into "Chrons" and Bianchi continues to lead the way with a new guitar riff as everyone else starts to form the rhythm section behind him. DeMars plays a cool bass riff on this one and things sound just a little space-y, but mostly reggae and it's a pretty smooth main riff. Weers sings an echo-y verse overtop that sounds pretty cool and this is definitely the most psychedelic reggae song I've heard, another interesting and well-executed clash of styles. After two and a half minutes of this, they suddenly snap into full punk-rock again and with a nice headbanging backing riff Bianchi goes off on a pretty wicked guitar solo, easily his best yet! What an unexpected and awesome surprise! Then it's right back to the slow and trippy main riff to finish things off. A pretty cool song! Track 7 is "New Ska" and it's got a very ska main riff with with some fast and repetitive guitar and some cool bass by DeMars. Weers sings a soft verse that fits the mood nicely and Patterson adds lots of backing vocals along with his fast drums. After a couple decent rounds Bianchi starts a space-y guitar solo, but it ramps up and turns into a fast and pretty sweet solo that takes us all the way to the end of the song! I like new ska! The next track is "Here We Go" and it sounds like a hard rock song with some cool guitars leading the way. Things speed up to punk-rock levels and Weers sings a solid punk-y verse overtop. There's no reggae tinge to this one at all, but it's a pretty solid punk rock song! Bianchi plays a simple but decent guitar solo and this song is a little repetitive but decent. Track 9 is "My Life" and there's a typical reggae backdrop, with Bianchi opening with a coop guitar solo overtop! When the solo ends the reggae verse starts as Weers and Patterson both sing at the same time in a bit of a contrasting part. The verse and chorus are smooth and simple but after each round we get another Bianchi guitar solo! The three solos are all cool, the rest is just decent, nothing too special. Up next is "Right Time" and it's got a super catchy main riff that is slow and super smooth with some cool drums, bass and guitars. Weers and Patterson sing together and they sound pretty good and in sync on this one. They sing about smoking reefer and how good it makes you feel inside and this is a pretty chill and cool tune. Very nicely done and solid the whole way through! Track 11 is "The Odds" and it's got a groovy bassline that forms the backbone of another reggae-rock riff that sounds smooth and solid and Weers sounds good singing softly overtop. The chorus is similarly smooth and after another verse the next chorus turns full punk-rock with the speed way up, but the same chorus is sung in a cool change. Bianchi then takes off for a long guitar solo and it sounds pretty epic. They return nicely to the smooth verse then they finish off with another punk chorus in this pretty good song. The next track is "30 Second Bust" and like the name suggests, it's only 35 seconds long. It starts slow and reggae, then quickly shifts to a furious punk riff with Weers swearing a bunch, then making fart noises at the end. Just a fun little joke song! Track 13 is "Ryan's Song" and it's got a very simple but breezy main riff with Weers singing a pop-y verse overtop with lots of "baby" and love-y drive-by lyrics. It's alright, but it definitely drags for me, especially for a song over four minutes. Bianchi slices it up a bit with a nice solo that matches the breezy mood, but most of it is very simple. Up next is "Full Of Fight" and they set the stage with a nice rhythm riff, including some cool rhythm guitar by Hanson before Bianchi comes in with some nice lead guitar overtop and things sound pretty cool! The verse and chorus is a little simpler as Weers sings decently overtop , then Bianchi gets a chance to solo after the chorus and he plays a long and pretty cool solo that fits the mood nicely. Then they hit reset and do it all again! I don't mind though, it's another smooth and cool tune. Track 15 is "B.A.D." and it's got a slow pace with another space-y reggae riff that sounds a little trippy and Weers vocals have all kinds of echo effects that add to the psychedelic mood. This pretty much sums up this whole five minute song, which is definitely about two and a half minutes too long! There's a faster singing section that is almost rapping that sounds decent, but most of this song is pretty bland as you just drift along. The next track is "Strive" and they soon settle into a light, breezy and catchy main riff with some nice guitar and a catchy drum beat by Patterson. Weers sings a nice verse overtop and Patterson joins him with some decent backing vocals in the chorus. After another couple slow rounds, they turn the chorus into full punk-rock! Things are very fast and in my opinion a lot better and they jam right through a couple punk choruses to finish things off. Track 17 is "Newbee's Dub" and they dive right into a fast-paced and catchy riff with some super catchy and cool lead guitar by Bianchi. This short song is instrumental and Bianchi leads the way with a bunch of pretty cool guitar, a fun little song for sure! Up next is "Alone" and they dive right into a fast-paced main riff with some nice punk-y guitars, before somehow segueing perfectly into a smooth reggae verse, very nicely done! Weers leads a typical verse and the fast punk part turns out to be the chorus with Weers singing quickly overtop in this solid punk chorus. They don't stray far from these two very different riffs, but the smooth transitions between them make for a smooth and interesting song. The final track on this long album is "My Life Rev. Lovejoy Dub Remix" and as the name suggests, it's a remix of the song "My Life" which we heard earlier. There's almost no vocals in this version and everything has that space-y and trippy vibe to it and DeMars bass is more prominent, and sounds pretty good. Without the vocals though things start to drag and it gets a little boring towards the end.

That is the end of "No Time To Worry" and I thought it was a good album for what it was, but not an amazing one and definitely too long at 19 tracks and over an hour long. Their mix of reggae and punk rock is pretty cool and there are lots of good songs, but also too many just decent songs. An interesting way to kick off the new year!