Tethering talent, a rock image and intense passion into one band doesn’t happen very often, especially in the world of punk rock. Project: Bottlecap has all of these characteristics and then some, and they display it proudly in their second full-length release, Saving Rock and Roll.

Fans of The Atari’s may recognize one of the band member’s names, Jasin Thomason, as a former member of newly signed to Columbia Records punk band, The Atari’s. In 1998, Thomason branched off of the Atari’s and formed, then a solo project, Project Bottlecap. Two records and multiple tours later, Project: Bottlecap is poised to take the world by storm.

In the first track of the new album, the obvious punk rock ingredients are heard right off the bat. Dueling harmonies, powerful guitars and super fast drums come at the listener in a barrage of punk rock splendor. Upon further listening, one can hear the purposeful lyrics and the passion--a certain X factor behind the music tying everything together. That X factor is passion, and it is all over this album.

Overall, this disc is about as new school punk rock as they get, and yet, there are very few times during the disc that I felt the urge to push the skip button. No real monotonous guitar lines (something punk rock has become well known for) and enough break downs to keep the listener energized and interested during the entirety of the album. Great punk rock? Now there’s a novel concept. Maybe some of the other not so talented punk rock bands in the scene will start taking notes from real talents like Project: Bottlecap.

Buy it now at Skeptic Productions

By Jeff Petermann
The Underground Mayhem Society-Launch date: 7/1/03