For those who don't rate digital-only releases, even free downloads, L.A. punk legends
T.S.O.L.'s terrific 30th anniversary LP is available, as of early 2010, as physical product on a picture-disc slab o' vinyl. But the music's the story, a scintillating, dynamic update of their incredible 1982 masterpiece
Beneath the Shadows; four-fifths of the lineup even returns from that American answer to
the Damned's
Black Album and
Strawberries. The key weapon then, busy keyboardist
Greg Kuehn, floors yet again, working off
Ron Emory's spider web of neo-psych guitars, while extroverted
Jack Grisham remains uniquely charismatic, even when not dominating a stage. Highlighted by the melodic muscle of "Modern Girl," "We're Together," "She's Got a Bomb," "Go to Bed Sleepy," and "Love That Mess,"
Life is stunning.