Over the last near-decade, Unwritten Law has established a strong reputation as one of the core bands that helped to shape the late-’90s SoCal skate-punk scene. But their 2005 release, Here’s to the Mourning, completely throws any credibility this band once had right out the window.

The album starts off with an electronic/techno-style intro before leading into “Get Up.” The song’s beginning has all the ingredients of a solid track, with heavy guitars and thumping bass backed by solid drumming. Even the guitar riff and the singing in the first two verses are fairly decent. But, like many songs on this album, once frontman Scott Russo gets into the chorus, the song goes soft. “Lost Control” and “Rejections Cold” are two other songs that have solid intros, yet also flop out midway. The bulk of the album’s tracks build you up, then just can’t follow through.

The change in Russo’s vocals is most distinctly noticed in the album’s radio single, “Save Me.” Seriously, it sounds as if he’s been neutered. And the lyrics are void of depth and sound, like they were forced to rhyme. Want some examples? How about: “Dance with me / Dance with me / Take off your pants with me,” or “I like the way that she moves when she moves me / I like the way that she feels when she feels me.” To top it off, “Fight” contains a chant that sounds like little kids singing the alphabet song.

But can someone please tell me what punk band has singer/songwriter Linda Perry -- the Four Non-Blondes chick who’s also collaborated with Courtney Love and Pink -- co-write a song? Yes, she helped write “Save Me.” Not to put any salt in Perry’s game, but Unwritten Law can write a damn good song on their own, without the help of a pop-music specialist. Or at least they used to be able to. Oz Factor, their self-titled album, and Elva were all great releases. I don’t understand what happened with this one.

Maybe it has something to do with Wade Youman (former drummer) leaving the band, or being dropped from Interscope after Elva in 2002. The result of this band’s sixth studio release is a watered-down album with a few hooks that are specifically produced for radio. While Unwritten Law might be writing about mourning on this record, original fans will be mourning of a loss of another good punk band to the corporate music scene.

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