Teenage Bottlerocket: A Lot! - The Complete CD-Collection (2003-2012) [Updated, combined & RESTORED]

Teenage Bottlerocket is the Old School Pop Punk from Laramie, Wyoming, formed in 2001. Alternative Press featured them as a "Band You Need To Know". Their music is heavily influenced by Kody Templeman's previous band, The Lillingtons, and earlier pop punk acts such as The Ramones, Screeching Weasel, etc. This collection is full of straight forward punk rock gems, laced with the unforgettable melodies that have become the calling card of Teenage Bottlerocket. In short - this is a freakin' fantastic stuff, recommended!

Originally consisting of Ray (bass/vocals), Brandon (drums), and Zach Doe (guitar), the band released their debut EP "A Bomb" on a Laramie communal label, One Legged Pup, in 2002. Soon after, Doe left and went back to Chicago, leaving the twins without a guitarist until they found University of Wyoming Music Major Joel Pattinson. In 2003 they wrote and recorded their first full length LP Another Way, also released on One Legged Pup. The release was vinyl only (the first 500 on pink vinyl), released on Halloween night 2003. The band continued to play and promote numerous local shows, even landing some opening spots in Laramie with All and The Ataris. The band was to embark on a short summer tour of the midwest in 2004. When Pattinson couldn't make the trip due to his obligations to the University Orchestra, the Carlisles called up their old friend Kody Templeman to play guitar on the tour. The tour went well, and they ended up playing some of the new songs that Kody had written. By the end of the tour, he was a permanent member of the band, although he has continued living in his hometown of Newcastle, 246 miles away from the rest of the band.

In late 2004 and early 2005 the band recorded their Red Scare debut full length, Total which contains dual vocals from Ray and Kody. After Total was released, the Groovie Ghoulies took notice of the band, and offered them a spot on their Space Station stage at the Vans Warped Tour. Soon after, the Ghoulies decided to drop Warped Tour, and embark with Bottlerocket, and The Teenage Harlets on the Teen Kicks Tour 2005. They would go on to play shows with The Methadones, Chixdiggit, and The Mr. T Experience. In the winter of 2005/2006 they embarked on their European Vacation Tour. In the summer of 2006, Bottlerocket embarked on another nationwide tour, this time with Fat Wreck Chords new wave act, the Epoxies.

On December 28, 2007, the band filmed their first music video, for the song In The Basement from the new album Warning Device out on Red Scare Records.

On February 10, 2009 Teenage Bottlerocket was signed to Fat Wreck Chords. Their first album for the label, titled They Came from the Shadows, was released on September 15, 2009. They followed up the release with tours with NOFX, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.

Two releases came in 2011. In March, Red Scare released their first album, Another Way, on CD for the first time in a deluxe edition with other previous vinyl-only tracks. In April, Fat Wreck Chords released on vinyl an EP, Mutilate Me, their second release on Fat Wreck which includes a Bad Religion cover. In 2012, the band has released their fifth studio album, Freak Out!, again on Fat Wreck Chords.

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Teenage Bottlerocket: A Lot! - The Complete CD-Collection (2003-2012) [Updated, combined & RESTORED]

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A long awaited CD reissue of the debut LP by one of most popular band in the genre today. Remastered by Cliffy Huntington, and coming with a bonus tracks taken from an old and forgotten 7-inches…

This is the stuff that started it all: Teenage Bottlerocket's first rare 12" now combined with their first two out-of-print 7"s! Classic fan favorites! That's right, Red Scare is bringing you 17 songs of early Teenage Bottlerocket all wrapped into one sweet package that is now re-mastered and suped-up for you to enjoy at maximum volume. If you've only been paying attention to this band since they've been doing huge shows with bands like Mighty Mighty Bosstones and NOFX, you'll wanna hear these old school tunes too. It's raw, punchy, and Ramones-y rock that got them first noticed in the pop-punk scene. You've seen how far they've come, now see and hear how all the magic started!

Tracklist:

01. Be Stag
02. Patrick
03. Go-Go
04. She Can't Think
05. Senior Prom
06. Mini Skirt
07. Pull The Plug
08. Rebound
09. Opportunity
10. Rathead
11. Another Way
12. A-Bomb [Bonus track]
13. Teenwolf [Bonus track]
14. Going Slow [Bonus track]
15. Job On Me [Bonus track]
16. Go Away [Bonus track]
17. Why I Let You Go [Bonus track]

all songs by Teenage Bottlerocket


Track "1-11" taken from "Another Way" (LP '2003)
Recorded June-July, 2003 at Motaland Studios in Denver, CO. by Bart McCrorey.
Tracks "12-15" taken from "A-Bomb" (7" - 2002)
Recorded November, 2001 at Long Division Studios in Fort Collins, CO. and
May, 2002 at Motaland Studios in Denver, CO. by Bart McCrorey.
Tracks "16-17" taken from "Why I Let You Go Away" (7" - 2005)
Recorded May, 2003 at The Blasting Room in n Fort Collins, CO. by Andrew Berlin.
All tracks remastered by J. Powell at Steinhaus Mastering.

• Ray Carlisle - vocals, bass
• Brandon Carlisle - drums
• Joel Pattinson - guitar, backing vocals (1-11, 16-17)
• Zach Doe - guitar (12-15)

Original Release Date: 2003
CD Release Date: March 15, 2011
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Label: Red Scare Industries
Catalog No.: CCCP 144-2

Before we get this review underway, look through your CD/vinyl collection real fast. Do you own some records by the Ramones, and maybe one or two by the Descendents? Good. Now, do you like these records? If you do, then you may stop reading here and go buy this record.

Teenage Bottlerocket is based out of Wyoming, and just happens to be Kody Lillington's new band (hopefully a familiar name), and these guys play some of the best pop-punk to be heard in a long time. As stated above, they take the sound of the Ramones and (in my opinion anyway) fuse it with the guitar work of earlier Descendents. Anyone who has listened to either of those bands know that this is a perfect combination.

The band winds up playing fast, fun, albeit simple songs. Some songs have only one verse that is repeated twice. One song features the sentence "Girl, you know, I love it when you go away," repeated for the entire 2-minute duration of the track. Of course, this isn't a problem in the least nor is it to be seen as a complaint. Just giving you an idea of what these guys are doing. Most songs revolve around the topic of girls, and these are the best songs. Catchy, almost too poppy, songs featuring lyrics such as: "So please stay / Tell me that you'll never go away / 'Cause if you do / I'm coming after you / So cool / I love hanging out with you / Baby, you're so cool / With all the stupid things we do".
However, this brings us to the only problem with the album. Songs such as "So Cool" and "Stupid Games" are going to be classics for the band, there is no doubt about that. But songs like "Rebound" and "Blood Bath At Burger King," while good (and certainly relatable), seem to lose their charm quickly after only a few listens. The aforementioned "Rebound" kills the momentum of the album, and "Blood Bath" isn't quite as funny after 5 listens. In other words, the simple love songs are really the keepers on the album, and luckily, a great portion of the record is just that.

I can't explain enough how great this record is. Listening to it, I'm hit with nostalgia for bands of yesterday, and still it feels so fresh and new. Teenage Bottlerocket has taken the very foundation of pop-punk and built a skyscraper of an album. Highly recommended.

~ Review by OKSoda, punknews.org

Teenage Bottlerocket came to life following the dissolution of Laramie pop-punks the Lillingtons. And even though there are definite similarities between the two bands (Kody Templeman, for one thing, fronts both), Teenage Bottlerocket manages to carve itself out a distinct identity, mostly due to the variety created by the trade-off vocals of Templeman and Ray Carlisle. The latter has a rough, somewhat slurred delivery that complements Templeman's higher, snider approach, and together they bring a lot of life and heart into straightforward, two-minute punk songs. Total is right up at the top with the best pop-punk out there nowadays overtly indebted to the Ramones, the quartet blasting through each song with an undeniable energy and a self-deprecating sense of humor that never lets up and never lets down. Whether they're singing about haplessly trying to land a date or later trying to simply lose the girl, Teenage Bottlerocket seem like those guys in high school who were just doing their own thing, happy with their friends and punk 7"s, and unconcerned with anything else. They may not tread any new ground, but it hardly matters here. Besides, how can anyone hate a record that includes such charming lines as "If you're cold I'll let you wear my Ramones sweatshirt/ If you fall I'm gonna make sure that you're not hurt/Won't you fall for me?" No really, the hooks in the song make it work splendidly. If you're still mourning the loss of the Lillingtons, there's no use crying because Teenage Bottlerocket is here to save the day. Catchy, genuinely cool, and full of plenty of wo-ohs, Total is some of the most fun to be had all year.

~ Corey Apar, all media guide

Tracklist:

01. Radio
02. So Cool
03. Stupid Games
04. Fall For Me
05. Crashing
06. Lost In Space
07. Go Away
08. Rebound
09. Blood Bath At Burger King
10. Veronica
11. Repeat Offender
12. A Bomb
13. So Far Away

all songs written by Teenage Bottlerocket



Recorded at the Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado in October 29-30 & December 18-23, 2004
Engineered by Andrew Berlin. Additional Engineering by Bill Stevenson. Mixed by Jason Livermore & Andrew Berlin
Mastered by John Greenham.

• Ray Carlisle – bass, vocals
• Kody Templeman – guitar, vocals
• Joel Pattinson - guitar, back ups
• Brandon Carlisle – drums

Release Date: March 29, 2005
Label: Red Scare Industries
Catalog No.: 103-2

It's early, but I can say with great confidence that Teenage Bottlerocket's Warning Device is the best pop-punk album I've heard this year. Time will tell if it retains the top spot, but for now it encompasses the beginning, middle and end of the list. Wyoming's leather jacket-clad savants return with another burst of memorable pop-punk that's easy to digest and difficult to hate. This is supposed to be fun, and it is. And honestly, who hates fun?

The album's opening one-two punch of "Bottlerocket" and "In the Basement" encapsulate the difference of the band's two vocalists nicely, with Ray's snottier, slightly more abrasive approach dominating the former and Kody's relatively smoother approach carrying the latter (that killer chorus in "Basement" certainly doesn't hurt, either). And when the two dudes collaborate, such as on the super sweet "Gave You My Heart," the results are consistently stellar. For the purists, there's also plenty of token "whoa"s and "oh"s sprinkled throughout.

All the other elements that make great and effective pop-punk are here as well, and in nearly perfect balance. Besides the aforementioned quality lead and backup vocals, the simple solos in songs like "Welcome to the Nuthouse" and "Crawling Back to You" sell the hooks well. The choruses are brain-lodging at every turn. Lyrically, the band doesn't exactly forge into unfamiliar territory, choosing to instead write what they know, which at the risk of pigeonholing myself and everyone who might like this record, is the M.O. for many pop-punk bands and their fans: girls, some even identified by name ("Anna's Song," f.e., with lines like "all I know if loving you's a felony / they'd have to take me into custody"), alienation ("Welcome to the Nuthouse", "Social Life") and general boredom ("Totally Stupid"). The band does a fine job of taking what could be easily perceived to be lyrical fluff and portraying it as sincere and earnest as I'm sure it actually is. Besides, it's all easily identifiable and relatable. It's highly likely most of us have, at one time or another, felt like an outcast, or though we wear girl (or boy, if you prefer) repellent like it's cologne. God knows I have.

All of this is helped along by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore's assistance, and like most of what gets put to tape at the Blasting Room, this record sounds really great.

Warning Device did not surprise me in any way, shape or form, and in no way is that an insult. Teenage Bottlerocket are damn good at what they do and if it ain't broke, then why fix it? This is a solid followup to Total and yet another addition to Red Scare's already awesome catalogue.

~ Review by Bryne, punknews.org

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Teenage Bottlerocket: A Lot! - The Complete CD-Collection (2003-2012) [Updated, combined & RESTORED]

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Warning Device is an album strictly for pop-punk purists: not one of these 13 songs breaches the three-minute mark, and strong echoes of the Mr. T Experience, the Dickies, and the Ramones permeate the barely half-hour disc. Actually, the last just a little too much: "In the Basement" is so dopily obvious a rewrite of "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" that the legal team for da bruddahs should ask for royalties. Aside from that misstep, however, Warning Device is old-school pop-punk done up right, with equal emphasis on the pop side of the hyphen, as shown in the boyishly lovestruck lyrics of tunes like "Gave You My Heart" and "She's Not the One". Teenage Bottlerocket is in no way out to reinvent the pop-punk wheel, which makes Warning Device an album strictly of interest to the existing cadre of fans of the style, but on the other hand, the complete lack of emo, metal, or other fashionable contemporary touches is exceedingly refreshing.

~ Stewart Mason, all media guide

Tracklist:

01. Bottlerocket
02. In The Basement
03. Gave You My Heart
04. She's Not The One
05. Pacemaker
06. Social Life
07. Welcome To The Nuthouse
08. Anna's Song
09. On My Own
10. Totally Stupid
11. Crawling Back To You
12. Warning Device
13. Wasting Time

all songs written by Teenage Bottlerocket


Recorded in September 2007 at the Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado
Engineered by Andrew Berlin & Jason Livermore. Mixed & Mastered by Jason Livermore.

• Kody Templeman – guitar, vocals
• Ray Carlisle – guitar, vocals
• Miguel Chen – bass
• Brandon Carlisle – drums

Release Date: January 8, 2008
Label: Red Scare Industries
Catalog No.: 118-2

Teenage Bottlerocket’s 2008 release, Warning Device, was ranked as Punknews’ 9th best record of 2008, so 2009’s They Came from the Shadows probably has some big shoes to fill, right? Right.

Well, their first album on Fat Wreck Chords is a powerful pop-punk answer to their 2008 release. With a playtime of just under 32 minutes and only two tracks running over three minutes, the album flies by but still leaves you wanting more.

Starting with “Skate or Die”, a skate anthem that feels just out of a game of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, kicks the album off well. The following track, “Don’t Want to Go” tells the story about a guy avoiding going somewhere out out of fear of seeing a girl that just broke his heart. “Bigger Than KISS” is an ambitious and fast-paced track where Teenage Bottlerocket call out some big names and declare, “We’re gonna go down in history as the world’s greatest rock and roll band”.

One of the best tracks on the record, “Not OK” is nothing but fun and a big fuck you to a bad ex-girlfriend, continuing on the theme of a bad breakup started early on in the album. “Without You” and “Be With You” are hard and catchy, and by catchy I mean that they won’t leave your head for days. “Be with You”, arguably the best track on the album, starts and ends too quickly.

While a few tracks leave more to be desired, they’re over before you know it, as the best songs come roaring in.

Teenage Bottlerocket’s latest effort is a tremendous pop-punk record, one of the best this year so far. It’s not far off from making another appearance on Punknews’ Best-of list. The world’s greatest rock and roll band? Not yet, but maybe, if they keep it up.

~ Review by DirtyVibes, punknews.org

It’s not every day that you hear about a Wyoming band cranking out amazing, fast-and-fun punk-rock tunes but that is what Teenage Bottlerocket does best. The foursome, hailing from The Cowboy State, ditched the clichéd Wyoming lifestyle, threw on black leather motorcycle jackets, grabbed their guitars, and created some of the catchiest punk tunes I myself have heard in years.The band recently released their fourth album, entitled They Came From The Shadows, which happens to also be the band’s first release with the independent punk rock label Fat Wreck Chords.

Read as a whole

The band previously intrigued me with their prior release, Warning Device. With Ramones-like similarities, their pop-punk elegance proved attention-grabbing throughout the disc and I found myself won over by one of the more intelligent bands on the punk scene. How intelligent? Two members are engineers. Another fun little fact: two members are identical twins.

“Skate Or Die” starts off the album with an ode to younger years of tearing it up complete with classic skate references to the Bones Brigade, street skater legend Rodney Mullen, and even some '80’s lingo like the term “poseur”. I love the fact that this song is all about the old-school days of skateboarding before it went mainstream.

The girl dodging “Don’t Want To Go” tells of missing the show to avoid the girl at the show. This classic high school tale of shunning from the ex is a cool, likable track.

“Bigger Than Kiss” cracks me up as the band verbally assaults the aging Detroit Rock City make-up wearing men, declaring “Ace Frehley can play guitar but he ain’t no fucking Kerry King” and shouting, “Calling Dr. Love hey get a load of this, Ray beat the piss out of Peter Criss!” The hilarious song continues to brag that Teenage Bottlerocket will one day be bigger than Kiss and by the end of the song the band seems to think they have proved their boast true.

The disheartening “Not OK” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. I can't help but to relate this song to many times in my past. “Call In Sick” should be the working class’ national anthem. I could only think of '80’s punk bands like Black Flag while listening to the song, not because of its music but rather its uncomplicated lyrics that tell a truthful story about the feeling many deal with on a day-to-day basis. “Fatso Goes Nutzoid” contains many elements of '80’s speed punk, especially with the rifling off of the lyrics.

“Without You” is another track I find myself digging over the others and I love the dual vocals along with the fast-paced drumming. The song bums me out, but in a good way, as it describes missing a special someone who no longer is in the picture. It’s songs like this — you know, the ones you relate to — that make me appreciate music all the more.

The songs on They Came From The Shadows are simple but fun and directly to the point. The album seems to end just as quickly as it begins, begging for another listen. I think that is what I love so much about this band: the simplicity. Not one song here exceeds three-and-a-half minutes, but it doesn't matter to me at all.

It’s nice to see Teenage Bottlerocket skip out on the extra bells and whistles to sound different. They keep it straightforward on this album (and their previous one, for that matter) and make it sound almost too easy. Fans of the Ramones, Screeching Weasel, the Vandals, and even pre-famed Green Day really need to check out this band if they have not already done so.

~ Brian McConville, blogcritics.org

Tracklist:

01. Skate Or Die
02. Don't Want To Go
03. Bigger Than KISS
04. Do What?
05. Not OK
06. Forbidden Planet
07. Call In Sick
08. Fatso Goes Nutzoid
09. Without You
10. Tonguebiter
11. Be With You
12. The Jerk
13. They Came From The Shadows
14. Todayo

all songs written by Teenage Bottlerocket


Recorded at the Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 11th - May 23th 2009
Engineered by Andrew Berlin and Jason Livermore. Additional Engineering by Felipe Patino
Mixed & Mastered by Jason Livermore.

• Kody Templeman – guitar, vocals
• Ray Carlisle – guitar, vocals
• Miguel Chen - bass
• Brandon Carlisle – drums

Released: September 15, 2009
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Catalog No.: FAT 747-2

Freak Out! is Teenage Bottlerocket’s fifth album and it shows, but in the sense that the familiarity here is a strength instead of a weakness. These four guys from Laramie, Wyo. have been churning out so much musically tight, lyrically quirky pop-punk jams over the past decade that they’re essentially getting by on sheer muscle memory, and Freak Out! is another fun chapter from perhaps punk’s most fun band.

The album’s first half is decidedly more aggressive than that of 2009’s wonderful They Came From The Shadows—the anti-concussion cautionary tale “Headbanger” and the hilariously titled “Necrocomicon” all whiz by with speed, while “Cruising for Chicks” (which is about exactly what you think it’s about) plods a bit in the verses before hitting the gas in the chorus. The midsection of the record, however, is bigger on pop, with “Maverick” using Top Gun references as allegory for a relationship, and a pair of impressively, painfully catchy mid-tempo songs in “Done with Love” and “Never Gonna Tell You.”

The mood briefly cascades back to silliness in the album’s backend, with anthems tackling heady topics such as mosh etiquette (“In The Pit”) and Kill Bill-style vengeance (“Who Killed Sensei?”), but the variation is a little more defined with “Summertime” and closer “Go With The Flow,” two of the best pop songs TBR have ever written.

Other than the somewhat uneven sequencing, the other minor problem with Freak Out! is the inclusion of two thirds of 2011’s Mutilate Me EP—the title track and “Punk House of Horror”—in lieu of previously unreleased material. In the age of Spotify, Rdio and iTunes there’s no such thing as a “limited edition” release, and while the songs are still great and fit the album’s sound like a glove, most listeners who bought Mutilate Me would’ve likely preferred some new songs in their place.

Even with that said, though, it’s hard to stay mad at Teenage Bottlerocket for long. They’re able to harvest earnestness from otherwise ridiculous places, where most similar bands fall short. It’s a tradition that continues on Freak Out! and will hopefully keep the group going for years to come.

~ Review by Bryne, punknews.org

Tracklist:

01. Freak Out!
02. Headbanger
03. Cruising For Chicks
04. Necrocomicon
05. Maverick
06. Done With Love
07. Punk House Of Horror
08. Never Gonna Tell You
09. In The Pit
10. Mutilate Me
11. Who Killed Sensei
12. Radical
13. Summertime
14. Go With The Flow

all songs written by Teenage Bottlerocket


Produced by Andrew Berlin & Teenage Bottlerocket. Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Andrew Berlin
Recorded at the Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado in March 2 - 17th 2012.
Lead guitar on "Maverick" - written & performed by Zack Hill.

• Kody Templeman – guitar, vocals
• Ray Carlisle – guitar, vocals
• Miguel Chen - bass
• Brandon Carlisle – drums

Release Date: July 3, 2012
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Catalog No.: FAT 789-2