Full disclosure, this record changed my life. It really did. It showed me a different approach to punk rock that took the great things The Clash did during the 80's and took it that much further with a new sound. If you'd heard the band's eponymous album and "Rogue's March," this one was vastly different. It sways with beautiful rock songs like "New Religion" and throws a 180 into the mix with the ballad "Rainy Day." Then there are more raucous tracks like "There's a New Life" and "Turn It Out." American Steel gave us a record that has a little bit of everything, an ethic that has carried over into their two latest comeback records, but nothing can touch "Jagged Thoughts." The band came through my hometown the year this one came out and tore through damn near the whole thing. I left feeling sweaty and enlightened to the idea that Irish-American existentialists can redefine what's "punk" and what isn't. Cover to cover, this is a really good time.
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