I could take your typical approach to reviewing this CD, one that I’ve read a thousand times over. I could tell you all about how the lead singer for the Stryder has left the band and now Pete and Scotty take turns singing, as Scotty has moved up to guitar and they brought in a new drummer (but still keeping the once not in the band Nick on bass). I could go on and on for days about the changes the band under went and how they effect me, how I feel about them. But I won’t. Everyone else is throwing more than their two cents around, so why should I do the same? I see no need for it. Whatever happened, whatever changes this band has gone through or will go through, I could really give a fuck- to be perfectly blunt. This review is about these ten songs and nothing else.
“Jungle City Twitch” starts with a great song called “Billy”. It’s plain out rocking, it’s not pop punk, it’s not even emo, it just rocks. The chorus is along the lines of “I won’t say anything, you won’t hear anything”, and the verses even offer lines like “It’s like the music’s just too loud, but you refuse to turn it down”. Onto the second song, “Crook”, and I’m still doing good. “Summer Coat” and “This is the Time” are also two very great songs, not just for this CD but for the current state of rock on a whole.
Some of the songs are slower and more melodic. You know, this CD starts off in a huge way- with a huge bang- but it kind of slows down as it goes on. It’s not too bad though. I enjoy the slower songs on longer drives. They don’t bother me one bit. The songs that rock, rock just that much harder so it makes up for it.
It’s been maybe two or three years since the Stryder has last released a CD. This whole CD could have been a lot poppier and it could have gone in the direction that a lot of their fellow bands went, such as New Found Glory. But you know what? They didn’t. The Stryder is keepin’ it real. And for that, this is easily one of my favorite CDs and one of the best releases of 2002 so far. Every second in the past couple of years that I have spent waiting for a new Stryder CD, well, this CD makes up for it. This CD makes every second worth it. And you know what? I was a huge fan of “Masquerade in the Key of Crime”, I thought it was a great CD and it still is great. But you know what? “Jungle City Twitch” blows it out of the fucking water. If it takes two or maybe even three years to make a follow up this good, then all bands should take that long before releasing new music.