The Challenged – Loaded Language

Oddly enough, The Challenged was the first group I ever watched grow from a relative DIY nothing into a sustainable venture.  It’s an odd fact because I live a country and half a continent away from the Brooklyn based pop punkers.  But thanks to a free, band sanctioned album download of their first full length (No Byproduct), that’s what happened.  It’s been a long road leading up to The Challenged’s third album, Loaded Language, but one that now finds the band joining the ranks of reputable Rally Records artists like The Riptides and The Ergs.  And it’s a great release to do so with, because The Challenged hasn’t sounded this relaxed in years.

The band experienced somewhat of a sophomore slump with their previous album, Relapse, but now show signs of a full rebound and recovery. Relapse offered much the same, but introduced another bandmate on vocals, whose oddly high-pitched take on raspy vocals threw me for a loop.  He didn’t ruin it, but certainly hindered the experience.  Thankfully, primary vocalist Rob reassumes chief vocal duties, and the uncredited bandmate once again gets hidden in the backdrop. The Challenged have always been at their best when playing dirt simple pop punk, and that’s exactly what Loaded Language offers.

The Challenged was born to play three-chord pop punk, and they’ve finally accepted it.  Rob fits right in with the likes of early Green Day and Ben Weasel – and to find a more contemporary comparison –The Riptides and Teenage Bottlerocket.  His steadfast, nasally vocals should bring any pop punk veteran back to the days of Lookout! Records domination.  Some might find fault in his obvious “play it safe” vibe, but this is more a case of don’t break what’s not broken than a lack of ambition.

Musically, the album falls in line with most three chord punk trios.  The album opens with the simple, speedy pace of “Quiet Zone” and never lets up.  Verse-chorus-verse repeat, and I say that with affection.  The band knows how to punctuate lines with momentary silence before leading into choruses as per “Hook, Line, And Sink Her,” as well as how to strip things down to their drum and bass core as per the first half of “Plumber’s Crack.”

They also have a lot of fun when it comes to lyrics.  The opening on “The Morning After Pill” sums it up nicely as Rob spouts off quick little puns like “I’m constipated with boredom,” and “you’re going to get laid-off, not laid.”  They’re also the only band I’ve ever run across to insert a clip from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film into a track (“Plumber’s Crack”), which is in and of itself pretty awesome.

So in the end, Loaded Language is the most enjoyable, most consistent release The Challenged have offered to date – and it holds up well against their peers to boot.  They’ve finally embraced their place in the world of pop punk, and are finally happy just having fun and giving their listeners a soundtrack to do the same to.  Released just in time for summer, fans of pop punk owe it to themselves to pick up Loaded Language and kick off their summer with a smile.