Unglued Reviews

Unwritten Law have covered a variety of styles during their career, often on the one album, but ‘melodic punk’ remains a good general description of their output. While The Hit List is a greatest hits (or “most requested at live shows”, at least) collection for UL, the band have chosen to re-record all the songs (with the exception of the three cuts from their most recent studio album, Here’s To The Mourning). This decision was ostensibly made in order for the current four-piece lineup to put their stamp on material recorded with different members, although it would take a very attentive listener to notice anything different about tracks such as the ska-influenced Up All Night and the punchy Seein’ Red from Elva, or the breakthrough hits from their self-titled third album, the mosh-ready Lonesome and the plaintive love song Cailin. The only easily noticeable change is to the song Superman (from early album Oz Factor), the first verse of which has been slowed right down.

However, the presence of the re-recorded versions will nonetheless make this a more worthwhile purchase for completists who would otherwise be shelling out their hard earned solely for the obligatory two new tracks included: Shoulda Known Better, a dark narrative of crime and addiction with near-spoken verses and a characteristic chorus, and Welcome To Oblivion, which retreads familiar ground both lyrically and musically. (In addition to the 19 listed tracks, there’s also a hidden second version of Shoulda Known Better featuring guest vocals from the song’s co-writer Mickey Avalon on the verses instead of Unwritten Law frontman Scott Russo.)

The collection certainly holds together well, although whether this cohesiveness is due to the re-recording ensuring consistency or the fact that the song selection homogenizes the band and removes the polar extremes of their output is debatable. But as a collection of the band’s best-known numbers, it’s hard to fault.

Owen Heitmann