Search - Bruce Lee Band :: Beautiful World

One of the most anticipated follow-ups from Asian Man, sorta

W. P. Melton | 07/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"10 years ago Mike Park released the first Bruce Lee Band record, with the non-horn members of Less than Jake backing him up, on his fledgling Asian Man Records. The album was short, rough and exhuberant, sounding like it had been recorded all in single takes in one afternoon (Park says it took 3 days to record, mix and master. So, allocating a day for each, that's about right). Despite it's rough form, the songs were fun, intense and catchy and the disc became a must have for all the kids that were into ska-punk back in the 'day'. And for a decade, at pretty much every single show, and every interview Park did, people asked when he was going to record a follow-up.



In the time between these two releases, Park has grown up and moved forward, in a sense. His music has slowed and become more introspective, but also more poignant and perceptive. The kids who bought the album when it first came out have grown up as well, which makes this release the audio equivalent of meeting an old friend after 10 years apart.



The new disc is not nearly as frentic as the first release. Instead of Less Than Jake, Park got members of the RX Bandits to back him up. The songs are more leisurely, akin to the Slackers, Inspecter 7 and some later 2-tone bands than it does with ska-punk. The songwriting has grown up, the melodies are more apparent and interesting in themselves as opposed to the way they are delivered. However, don't make the assumption that the songs are dead or boring. Park may have slowed down a little, but he still maintains the anger and intensity of his previous releases. He's learned that something doesn't have to be loud and fast in order to be indignant and powerful.



Overall a great release, the only problem is it's much too short. 10 years is a long time to wait for 6 songs, totalling 15 minutes of music. Granted, this is only 10 minutes shorter than the last B. Lee band (not counting the ending cut-and-paste patische), and the songs are good enough that putting the disc on repeat isn't a problem.



All that being said, you should order this from AMR, as you'll get it for cheaper than Amazon can offer."