Useless ID - Symptoms Review

Guilty pleasures almost universally share one feature: if you expose yourself to them for too long in a stretch, you begin to feel your brain cells dying. Make no mistake, I love my guilty pleasures, chief among them some pretty shameful pop punk. But more than a couple tracks in a row, and I have to switch it off.


The best Useless I.D. could possibly be, if you’re over the age of fifteen, is a guilty pleasure. The question is, how much pleasure we can get for our guilt? Among the hundreds of overproduced, formulaic pop-punk (or alt rock, as we old fogies called it in the 90’s) albums, does Symptoms make the cut?


The album actually starts well enough, with a sharp riff and catchy vocal melody. The radio-ready engineering is a little hard to take, but that comes with the turf. “Before It Kills” is also a tolerable track, fast-paced with good hooks and one of the album’s most careful arrangements. Clocking in at two minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Starting at the following track, though, Symptoms begins to slide. “Normal With You” is a generic, whiny song, presumably directed to an ex. The melodies, though unoriginal, still satisfy, and the song boasts a well-written bridge and some cool guitar action....full text As many of you know, good, wholesome punk rock is not just an American thing. Middle Eastern punk rockers Useless ID can prove that and have been for almost 18 years. The foursome, who hail from Haifa, Israel, signed with Fat Wreck Chords last year and recently released Symptoms.

So what took Fat Wreck Chords so long for them to suck them in? Well, perhaps because the band never seems to sit still and is too busy playing shows all over the world and befriending anyone in their path. Regardless, Fat Wreck Chords has them now and I seriously doubt they will be letting go anytime soon.

Symptoms was recorded with the legendary Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore (Rise Against, NOFX) at The Blasting Room Studios once the band was able to come back to the states from their current hometown of Tel Aviv. The result of months of hard work is a pop punk gem that Fat Wreck Chords should be beyond proud of. (I’m talking “dad, I just won my first fistfight in grade school” proud.)

“Live or Die” started the 12-track album off full of pop punk goodness. I was set back at how great this song started off the album. The lyrics were catchy, the music was solid and I wanted more. Good thing I was only on the first track. Lucky for me “Before It Kills” followed with the same amount of substance I was already craving. Hell, the second track was better than the first....full text Despite being easily one of the most successful punk bands to come from Isreali soil, USELESS ID have always seemed to live a little under the mainstream radar, never quite matching the success of their US counterparts. This, however, doesn’t mean that they’re not well loved, and releasing through Fat Wreck for the first time with album seven, ‘Symptoms’ marks a significant step up for the band.

Landing four years after last full-length proper ‘The Lost Broken Bones’, this album has been a long time coming, and, thankfully, it’s well worth the wait. The songwriting throughout is excellent, and it picks up almost directly from where the last record left off.

At a rough mid point between MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK, BAD RELIGION and HOT WATER MUSIC, USELESS ID sound dark, urgent and energetic, and each of the album’s 12 tracks are highly listenable. The band’s sound isn’t one that should stand apart from any of its influences, but the fine balance of styles gives them a unique edge, and songs like ‘Manic Depression’ and ‘Normal With You’ really are a great listen.

‘Symptoms’ may not sit particularly well with fans of the band’s Kung Fu Records days in the same way as ‘The Lost Broken Bones’ didn’t, but the crossover appeal USELESS ID have here means that may not matter all too much. For a band approaching its 20th anniversary, USELESS ID still sound like they still care greatly for the music they’re making, and that keeps the record sounding fresh and interesting....full text