Face to Face has been bringing Punk Rock to the masses for the last 20 years. After a brief hiatus they are back and taking their music to the streets with the release of their newest album on Antagonist Records “Laugh Now, Laugh Later.”

Fueled by anger, massive guitars and the good ole power of punk rock this albums opens with “Should Anything Go Wrong.” Not only was I instantly hooked but my worry about whether Face to Face still had it was wiped away and a smile formed on my face. Track 2 “It’s all about you” reminds me of Face to Face circa 1995. It has a powerful chorus, the classic background “heys,” and a dueling guitar breakdown at the 1:20 mark. The key change at the 1:58 mark was unexpected and dazzled me with a bass line that reminds me punk rock isn’t all about the guitars.

“Bomb’s Away” opens with a bass line that’s out to get you. This bass line is the driving force and shows the pure creativity genius Scott Shifflet is. “Blood is in the water” is my favorite track on the record. The buildup at the beginning is fantastic. The first verse is simple and classy. The prechrous stands out and could almost fill in as the chorus. One might note that the chorus seems to deviate from the normal face to face sound and I like it. It reminds me of a New Found Glory or Hit the Lights breakdown. The bridge reminds me of the 90’s grunge sound straight out of a Soundgarden song. With hits like this Face to Face is here to stay.

Track 7, “I Don’t mind and you Don’t matter” should be the single from this album. It captures Face to Face perfectly. It makes me feel like I am 16 headed into a Friday night Punk Rock Show. “Stop Gap” really shows off the vocal ability of Trevor Keith. This song is straight forward Punk Rock and I love it. Thanks Face to Face for bringing back the glory days.

Overall Face to Face is still out the top their game. A few years off and they’ve aged like a fine wine. All tracks on this release have the classic Face to Face sound and it wont let you down. The production quality may be the best Face to Face has ever had. This release should go over well with the kids and should be an overall success. I can’t wait to catch them live.