Album Description
"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 us live different lives, but what I can tell you is that Haunted Cities is unlike anything else. With guest appearances by the Boo-Yaa Tribe, Rakaa from Dilated Peoples, B-Real and Sen Dog from Cypress Hill, people ain't gonna know what hit 'em. And to tell you the truth, we still don't care."-Rob Aston, Transplants

Amazon.com
Rarely is a side project equal to the member's primary outfit, but the Transplants subvert that long and wisely held opinion. Named because they are indeed musicians transplanted from other bands--Blink 182's skin beater Travis Barker, Rancid's guitarist and singer, Tim Armstrong, and former AFI roadie Rob Aston make up the line-up--but much to their credit they didn't bring much baggage from their rather high profile musical units except maybe just the smallest throwback to mid-career Rancid on the confrontational and rather bleak "American Guns." But that's really a creative blip, instead the band members display a contagious and clubby party ethic, rather like the Stone Roses before the end of Madchester years with a buzzy menacing guitar and some superb Keith Moon-ian drumming underpinning everything. Instead of promoting punk revivalism, "Haunted Cites" is a compendium of what the band members listen to on their off hours, fusing their love of dancehall, metal, Philly soul, reggae and hip-hop into this rhythmically solid and lyrically adventurous follow-up to their standout 2002 debut. Any band that can name check Blackie Lawless in their first song, and then go on to create such luscious vintage soul, sounding like a reincarnated Stylistics on the chillingly beautiful "What I Can't Describe" deserves to be on the express elevator to the top of the charts. And that's even before you take into account their sardonic paean to hedonism on "Gangsters and Thugs," with it's charmingly bone-headed chorus "Gangsters and thugs/Criminals and hoods/Some of my friends sell records/Some of my friends sell drugs." --Jaan Uhelszki

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 13 reviews)

Even Worse than The First by Robert (California)

1 Stars
September 27, 2005
Come on Tim, why are you doing this? you are a musical genious! you played in Operation Ivy! come on man! what's happening! This album, the second album in the history of the transplants is even worse than the first, congrajulations! I didn;t think that was possible! Everything is bad here. Tim went even lower than RANCID, trying to make his voice sound "punk" and ruined his vocal work. It is all a bunch of screaming, croaking, and clicking. Instrumentally, this album may be amongst the worse ever made. Infact, their drummer sounds like a beginner who's been playing for like a year. Tim's guitar level stays about the same, but the bass player is teribble. Tim Armstrong used to play music with exellent musicians, amongst them Matt Freeman, who in my opinion is one of the best of our time. Now the bass player, who's name I haven;t bothered to look up is just as bad as the drummer. I shamefully rate this album 1 star and pray that one day Tim Armstrong will once again take up his guitar, realize what a loser he's bieng right now, remember Operation ivy, and once again become kick ass. PEACE OUT!

transplants didnt do bad at all.

4 Stars
August 21, 2005
the transplants lowerd down on the screaming unlike the first cd.And most of the songs are amazing, 2 or 3 songs lack excitment and are boring.Otherwise 9.1/10

More solid than the 1st by Bob Brown (Waterford, MI)

4 Stars
August 04, 2005
The thing that attracted me to this band in the first place was Travis. He is my favorite drummer and I knew he would never dissapoint and that he'd bring something special to any band he's in. After that 1st impression I discovered that the Transplants are very versatile and the vocals and melodies are very strong. The 1st album was great but the production was a tad bit rough as it was recorded in Tim's basement and Travis only had 5 hours to record drums. This record is a lot more polished and the vocals have improved. Not Today-7/10 A good opening punk track that gets u pumped for the rest of the cd. This song does get repetitive and a little boring after a while. Apocalypse Now-8/10 This song brings in the electronic elements which I'm not really fond of. But since there is a nice mix of electronics and real instruments I'm ok with that. Good rapping and a good rock chorus. Gangsters and Thugs-8/10 The 1st single is really all electronics. But since it has a great melody and good rhymes, I can't help but to give it 8. What I Can't Describe-7/10 This song is completely different fron the rest of the cd since it is pure hip-hop with a little bit of funk and soul. I like the melody but the song's a little too ghetto for me. Not a real heavy beat or anything. Doomsday-8/10 I like where they were going with this song. There's a swing beat with solid vocals and interesting instrumentation. I just think they should of took the musical idea further instead of the focus being on vocals most of the time. Killafornia-10/10 One of my favorites. I love the beat and the attitude of the whole song. The guy from Cypress Hill sounds amazing and the track just flies. I wish I saw them play this at Warped. American Guns-9/10 Damn catchy song. Not too fast or heavy of a song, just fun. I've had this stuck in my head a lot. Madness-8/10 This is also a fun song. Cool instrumentals, just not as memorable as American Guns. Hit the Fence-9/10 Basically a short rap song with an awesome beat. This stands out to me cuz Travis puts a pretty simple cadence into a song to make it bounce and sound amazing. Pay Any Price-7/10 I'd say the worst sounding song production wise on the album. Not very catchy and they sound like they don't care about what they're singing. Pretty cool instrumentals with a kind of lazy, beach vibe. I Want It All-10/10 Another one of my favorites. I love the hand claps and the beat through the whole song. A really fun, party kinda song. Crash and Burn-6/10 This in my opinion is the worst song on the cd. It sounds like a bad No Doubt song with the reggae feel with all electronics. The vocals are the best part of this song but still not that great. I'd say a bad way to end the album. Overall this is a good album. I've grown to really like Rob's rapping style. It has different songs for any mood you're in, which is always good for when you're trying to find something to listen to. They are also awesome live. Travis changes a lot of the parts to make it a lot more interesting. The compositions are also more complicated live and they just put on a good show.

Blackplants? by Jrstewart83

1 Stars
August 03, 2005
This is the sweetest hip hop cd ive heard,....oh except that little fact that hip hop is crap.Ive always backed tim and now i must say i doubt myself if i can even like him anymore. Now on to the main issue.... Skinhead rob. If i was him i would seriously consider suicide.i despise skin head rob with every ounce of my being and especially my teetee. He is a fat waste of space. I cant wait till the next T-plants cd where tim and skinfag rob are on the cover with gold teeth and dredds. Wicked style. lates . ...... and get ready to see a wet bird fly at night.

Great Album, and a TON of top level tards underrating it..... by boxerjames (Kali)

5 Stars
July 04, 2005
First off, "Tristan" should legally change her name to "tard". Im not kidding. Whining about this CD and your closed mind not being able to grasp it is one thing, Saying that Lars and the Bastards "Viking" CD was the worst thing out in 2004 is altogether ignorant. Viking is hands down the BEST CD of 2004, and brought back old skool, kick ass, in your face punk while your idols Yellowcard and Good Charlotte continued to pollute the airwaves. Listen to 1 percent and Maggots on Viking, and attempt to deny the GENIUS guitar work. Knucklehead. On to "Haunted Cities": The greatest thing about The Transplants is they really DONT GIVE A F**K what people think of them. They do what they do, and enjoy every second of it. In my version, the CD blasts off with "Not Today". Honestly, there is so much going on with every track that you really have to listen 3-4 times to appreciate the hell out of it. My girlfriend was so blown away from the first track alone that she had me play it again so she could soak in everything about the song. And thats where the genius of the transplants comes in.....its punk, soul, hip hop, reggae, funk and rhyming. The feeble minds wont get or like this CD, because it simply asks your brain to actually process something unique, deep, and completely different than the usual mundane, droning garbage out there. The Transplants proved that they can't be labeled in the first CD, and they stay true to that on this one as well. 5 stars isnt enough-this CD will blow your mind if you take it ALL in and give it the listening time it deserves. Tim also proves once again that he simply one of the most talented music cats on the planet.

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