Another Round

Following up 2001's The Shots From the Kalico Rose was a tough assignment, but L.A.'s favorite punk revivalists Pistol Grip do a credible job with Another Round. While it's less immediately striking than it's predecessor, this 13-track disc still finds frontman Stax questioning authority on chant-along anthems like "A Murder of Crows" and "Black Heart." Riotous blasts like "The Unwanted," and "1997" -- the latter a look back on PG's first five years -- find Hollywood and Chris, the quintet's two guitarists, roaring in tandem to create a glorious noise atop Slowey's rattling basslines and Boxcar Kelley (aka B)'s skull knocking drum rolls. Stiff Little Fingers still stands out as the group's biggest influence on the stellar "Damned of Tomorrow," and even if Another Round fails to trump the immediacy and exuberance of Kalico Rose with great, but greatly predictable punk tunes like "Gypsy" and "Broken Radio," PG are still a step above peers like the Business and the Unseen, and hell of a lot better than the bulk of what ranked as punk in 2003.