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From January 2000 to June 2002, Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong laboriously pored over loops and samples, collecting synth squeals and snatches of howling guitar and, naturally, writing songs. Aided by raging rapper Rob Aston, he's put it all together to form this often intriguing and strangely beguiling side project. The opening's not promising. With the death-riff of "Romper Stomper" followed by the urban R&B and chanted party-rock chorus of "Tall Cans in the Air," Armstrong flails badly. But then his Clash obsession kicks in once more. This London-Kingston-California hybrid is thoroughly weird but oddly touching. It rings out in "Weigh on My Mind" and "Diamonds and Guns," with its Sex Pistols-inspired marching intro, rollicking piano, and Stones-like woo-woos, while the closing "Down in Oakland" is an enthusiastic take on the Clash's later spaghetti-western reggae. These, and Armstrong's sonic experiments, provide interest, with adrenaline pumping from searing punk-metal bursts. Though Aston's outbursts are often confrontational in the most predictable and tedious sense, Transplants is something new. --Dominic Wills

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 136 reviews)

Green Andy Reviews: The Transplants - The Transplants by A. ZIATS (New York, NY, USA)

4 Stars
October 04, 2009
Sometimes it seems like Tim Armstrong does his best work when he thinks nobody is listening. The second Transplants album, 2005's HAUNTED CITIES, was an egotistical mess with too many guest-stars that succumbed to all of the worst aspects of the rap side of their rap/punk hybrid. But this debut, which emerged from jam sessions between the three principal players (Armstrong, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, and Armstrong's friend Rob Aston), is as fun and infectious for us to listen to as it must have been for them to record. Rap/punk must have sounded like a marketer's dream back in 2002, but the sound here is a remarkably organic outgrowth of Armstrong's hooky gutter-punk, Barker's accomplished pop punk drumming, and Aston's tough-guy hardcore rapping. Of the three, probably Aston is the toughest to take, as his shouted macho raps are the weakest contribution of the three, and his vocals certainly pale in comparison with Armstrong's typically enjoyable mush-mouthed delivery, but the group does a great job of integrating them both into the songs, which run the gamut from straight-up rock and roll to hardcore shouters to even some outright hip hop, and it all comes together alarmingly naturally. The best song by far is the single "Diamonds and Guns", with a catchy piano refrain and "woo-woo" chorus, and great vocals by Armstrong and Aston, plus a guest rap by Son Doobie of Funkdoobiest. But there's lots of other highlights, like the scathing opener "Romper Stomper" and the equally aggressive "Quick Death". Armstrong's ex-wife Brody Dalle shows up to croon the chorus on "Weigh on My Mind", and Lars Frederiksen guests on the rousing sing-along "We Trusted You". Armstrong himself gets in a few ska-inspired raps, particularly on the album's other breakout track (due to its inclusion on Tony Hawk's Underground) "California Babylon", and his rapping is probably more enjoyable than "Skinhead Rob" Aston's. Still, the two make for a nice contrast. Despite all the meshing styles, Transplants is a terrific pop album, with some of the catchiest songs that Tim Armstrong has co-written since the early days of Rancid. It really betrays its origins as the product of a group of seasoned songwriters, messing around in a rehearsal room and having fun with some of their favorite music. The second album in comparison sounds labored and self-conscious, the result of too much press attention during the recording process. But at least they got one album out before that happened.

To be avoided by L. Myhan (Seattle, WA)

1 Stars
June 02, 2009
Punk and rap could be a great combination, but this album falls extremely flat. Take bog-standard "heavy" music and throw in a healthy dose of misogyny and a weird, misguided attempt by the songwriters to create punk versions of gangsta rap-style song lyrics, and you're left with a nearly unlistenable mess.

Tim and crew put music where their mouth is by Wes Newman (McMinnville, TN United States)

5 Stars
March 01, 2009
The Transplants lyrics stay true to the streets. This isn't just fusing two musical styles, it is doing what Rancid sang about in "Aveneues and Alleyways". "He's a different color, but we're the same kid. I'll treat him like my brother, he'll treat me like his." Rap and punk unite. Also this album is kind of scary and dangerous. I get the feeling Tim Armstrong had a bad day when he made this. While I want it to retain the positive message of "... And Out Come the Wolves" it doesn't. It is hard and at times ugly. But that is what punk rock and good art is all about. Staying honest even when things get sticky and putting it all out there until you feel better. It isn't safe. In the song "DJ DJ" when Rob Aston yells lines like, "We came too far now, nowhere we can flop. Wanna drop me, gotta kill me, only way I'm a stop!", you really believe it. This song really opens my mind to the mindset some people have. Like they would have their best friends back no matter what. It is passionate, it is raw, it is dangerous, and it is everything good punk stands for. Kudos Tim and crew!

Transplants are lame by Eric Medellin

1 Stars
January 24, 2008
I thought this was going to be a good modern metal/punk CD but it is pretty lame. They kinda sound like punk/wannabe rappers. The music is not good.I dont listen to the CD at all , I now know why the original owner sold it.......To sum it up ....It Sucks....

Every single song on this album is Brilliant & well-executed! by Stephanie Stone (Los Angeles, CA)

5 Stars
December 06, 2007
Transplants I am not lying when I say that each & every song on this album is not only genius but well-written, expertly executed with killer hooks and catchy choruses, great loops, amazing samples and tight rhymes. The subject matter these songs are written about is every bit as intriguing & gritty as the vocals of the lead singers. These songs are based upon a side of reality rarely detailed in music in quite the way the Transplants have chosen to bring it. There is something for everyone here. The hip-hop lover can bump it loud, while the alternative fan can amp up on the stirring blend of energy that this record has. This album should have gotten way more exposure when it came out and should be as well-known as Sublime got when they also had an album like this where every song was great! I guess the best thing about it not being as popular as Sublime is that nobody is sick of the Transplants like we all are of Sublime! Long live the Transplants! Hanging on for the next record!

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Haunted Cities by Transplants "A few years ago, when Tim, Travis and myself were finishing up the first Transplants album, we weren't sure what was going to happen. You wouldn't believe how many people told us that they "don't get it" or that they're "not sure what people will think". To tell you the truth, we didn't really care. But here we are, a few years later, with a new Transplants album-Haunted Cities. I've always had a hard time describing our records, being as though all 3 of us have different backgrounds all 3 of...
	Haunted Cities by Transplants "A few years ago, when Tim, Travis and myself were finishing up the first Transplants album, we weren't sure what was going to happen. You wouldn't believe how many people told us that they "don't get it" or that they're "not sure what people will think". To tell you the truth, we didn't really care. But here we are, a few years later, with a new Transplants album-Haunted Cities. I've always had a hard time describing our records, being as though all 3 of us have different backgrounds all 3 of...
	A Poet's Life by Tim Armstrong This began as a thank you from Tim to Rancid fans, to be released one track at a time on the Internet to tide fans over until the next Rancid full-length. But when KROQ in LA began heavily playing the explosive track, "Into Action", plans changed. So here's Armstrong's first solo release, backed by some of the strongest radio support since the days of "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho". With a killer old-school two-tone groove, helped along by Hellcat label mates The Aggrolites, "A Poet's Life"...
	Lars Frederiksen & the Bastards by Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards
	Indestructible by Rancid Rancid, one of rock's most influential indie bands of the 90s, finally makes its major-label debut with indestructible, it's first album in three years. 19 tracks packaged in digipak format. Hellcat. 2003.