New Beginning (Independent)

As album titles go, New Beginning definitely falls into the category of unintentionally ironic. Even though the last time anyone checked it was 2009, One Bullet Resolution seems like it’s on a mission to re-create the sound of the early ’90s, a time when bands like Faith No More and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were injecting a metal-glazed strain of funk-punk into classic alt-rock.

The Vancouver four-piece comes across as heavily indebted to both of those acts off the top of this eight-song outing. Singer Jeremy King’s mental-patient jabbering on the proggy maelstrom that is “Oblivion” suggests that he might have spent some time in the same asylum ward as Mike Patton, and Jamie Hockin’s bass work on the Chilis-flavoured tribal metal of “Jungles” would impress no less than Michael Balzary.

The retro fixation on this expertly played album doesn’t stop there. “Bandits” starts out like Kansas and ends up tasting like Bootsauce; “Until I’m Gone” takes an acoustic detour down pre-Nirvana Sunset Boulevard; and “Taking Back” will fit right into your ’90s-Seattle iPod playlist.

One Bullet Resolution proves it’s not entirely confused as to what decade this is on “Built to Break”, a techno-strafed shot of white-hot nu-metal guaranteed to make you want to drive into oncoming traffic. Mostly, though, the band has positioned itself well for the inevitable ’90s revival, which is more than you can say for the surviving members of Ugly Kid Joe.