Lagwagon are old. Or at least they like to joke about it, thus the name of their new EP, “I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon.” Cute! They were the first band on Fat Wreck Chords after all, pounding away at the pop punk since 1990.

And old as they may or may not be, their tenth release is vintage Lagwagon. The seven-song EP may not be as fun-loving as earlier material like “Trashed” or “Hoss,” but the absence of jokey songs makes way for more thoughtful ones. Like most aging punks, Joey Cape (he’s the short one) seems to be feeling the weight of the world more than he used to, sometimes literally. On “Live it Down,” he’s feeling guilty for our ecological footprint. “We colonize and we multiply as we suck it dry,” he sings. “Yeah we’re sure to die off!”

But don’t despair, there’s plenty of that too, mostly in the form of old-fashioned relationship angst. “All that we face has slowly been erased,” Cape confesses on “Memoirs and Landmines,” a breakup song. “These memoirs have no date, it seems like such a waste.” We find out more as the song goes on. “It ended in a text message. I’m just so fucking sensitive. Away we go.”

Though the album cover is basic (is that the Adler font?), Lagwagon have always been one of the showiest bands in punk rock. Not in a flashy, arrogant way, but in a we’ve-got-really-good-musicians-in-our-band kind of way. Guitarists Chris Flippin and Chris Rest use more complicated chords with more sophisticated progressions. Joey Cape’s melodies soar with more movement than most punk rock songs. And Dave Raun’s drumming is impossibly furious. As well, few other bands could get away with inserting a guitar solo as shred-tastic as the one in the middle of “Errands.”

Though Lagwagon may not tour like they used to or crank out records with the same frequency, they’re still that same band from Goleta, California. Youth may be king, but wisdom is way more satisfying. And besides, who wants to stage dive with a replaced hip anyway?

Lagwagon – “Memoirs and Landmines”

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