Oh, to be Rancid. Mixing high-energy punk with the infectious, quick-time bounce of second-wave ska, the brazen foursome from Berkeley, California, continues to do things their way. That's apparent the moment you cue up Tomorrow Never Comes, the band’s 10th studio album. Freeman's bass screams as he gooses his band's turbocharged ska with tight turns and high-speed thrills.
Live, his picking prowess is nothing short of breathtaking. Dialling in a burnished tube tone and latching onto drummer Brett Reed like a clenched fist, Freeman weaves aggressive walking lines and monstrous flatpicked fills into and around guitarists Tim Armstrong's and Lars Frederiksen's pounding, lock-step rhythms.
