Hello reader,
Welcome back. Or if this is your first time, welcome. Stick around.
Today, we’re going to delve into UltraBomb’s newest album, The Bridges That We Burn, which comes out via DC-Jam Records/Virgin Music Group on Friday, May 1st, for your listening pleasure. This is the third album from the punk rock power trio that currently includes talented music veterans Derek O’Brien (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Adolescents, Punk Rock Karaoke) on drums and backing vocals, Ryan Smith (Soul Asylum, The Melismatics) on lead vocals and legendary punk rock bassist and alternative rocker Greg Norton (Hüsker Dü, Grey Area, Porcupine, Gang Font feat. Interloper) on bass and backing vocals. Both O’Brien and Smith joined the band in 2025, and this is their first album together.
However, this is not the first time SWT has covered Ultra Bomb. Josh had a great interview with Norton shortly after the release of UltraBomb’s previous album, Dying to Smile, in 2024, which he also ranked within his top 20 new albums of that year. At the time, the band, consisting of Norton, Finny McConnell (The Mahones), and Jamie Oliver (UK Subs, SNFU), had crafted two albums, including their debut Time To Burn in 2022, shortly after their formation the year before. According to Norton in an interview with New Noise Magazine, “Visa issues made it difficult to tour with Jamie, and Finny left after he and Greg disagreed on how to push forward with the band.” As a music fan yourself or even more so if you’re a musician, you understand that it is a common occurrence for bands, sometimes the difference is enough to split a band up to never make music again. Other times, the musicians create even better music afterward. That’s always the goal in that situation, right? And sometimes they do. That’s another topic for another day to wax poetic about.
Giving credit where it’s due, some album credits via the album’s press release: “The Bridges That We Burn was recorded at Creation Audio in Minneapolis and produced, engineered, and mixed by John Fields, with mastering by Justin Perkins (Mystery Room Mastering).” Fields is a renowned producer/mixer/writer/multi-instrumentalist who’s worked with Andrew W.K., Backstreet Boys, Cut Copy, Demi Lovato, Goo Goo Dolls, Har Mar Superstar, Jimmy Eat World, the Jonas Brothers, Lifehouse, Miley Cyrus, Pink, Selena Gomez, and Switchfoot, to name a small team worth of artists. And Perkins remains one of the most in-demand mastering engineers in the business, with an equally long list of past work. Chances are good that many of your favorite artists’ albums of the past two decades have been worked on by either or both of these guys.
As Norton stated in the press release for the album about the song “No Cap”, “There is a lot of noise to keep us distracted. Everyone has an opinion, informed, and not informed. I’m at capacity with all the bs, let’s start real conversations.” Amen. I think many are beyond ready for that.
And now for some hype for your ears and eyes via the UltraBomb’s YouTube channel:
The catchy as hell song, “Artificial Stars”:
(All credits and rights to UltraBomb)
The fuzzy, at times disoriented visuals within the video for the song, “No Cap”:
(All credits and rights to UltraBomb)
A look inside the studio for the band’s instrument tracking session for the song “Checked Out”:
(All credits and rights to UltraBomb)
Another song that encapsulates the state of the times, within the video for the song “Look Forward In Anger”:
(All credits and rights to UltraBomb)
The Bridges That We Burn has a lot going for it. It is truly melodic power-pop-punk of the 2020s, full of incredible musicianship, tight solos, nice harmonies, channeled aggression, and topical themes of the current day. There’s a weariness in the songs, and it comes through loud and clear on top of well-crafted melodies, in a way that gets you head-bopping and moving to the beat, not sitting alone in the dark. There’s a lot to like about the collection of musical talent and acumen of Norton, O’Brien, and Smith that is on display throughout the album. I’m grateful that these talented veteran musicians finally teamed up, and I hope there’s more to come from this trio. Listeners, I think you will too. Fans of the band can chime in after listening to the new album if they’d like, and let us know, does UltraBomb sound better with this trio than with their previous two albums? Those two, as noted above in the band bio portion, featured a different lineup. While I liked the previous trio, I think the current lineup meshes and feeds off each other better as O’Brien and Smith each bring something different and new than McConnell and Oliver did, resulting in a more complete album and a more alternative, fully fledged, memorable listening experience. Every musician is different. Kudos to Fields and Perkins for their production and engineering work on the album; it sounds fantastic.
Waffle Theory that every musical trio should consider. Think of an incredible waffle (perhaps of the Belgian variety) that you’ve had. One that had three parts: batter, syrup, and butter. On this album in general and within the songs, Smith is the batter, O’Brien the syrup, and Norton the butter. The band showcases their fantastic sound from the opening guitar notes of the opening song, “Darwin Awards” by Ryan Smith, to his opening vocals, to O’Brien’s beautifully frenetic yet tight-knit drumming, to Norton joining in on bass, adding some groove and depth, completing the band’s sound as it marches forward with excellence. In addition, the backing vocals pair well with Smith’s lead. Smith and O’Brien really shine from the beginning of this album, and Norton doesn’t lie in the shadows as he plays an integral part, completing the melody while supporting the others to showcase their strengths. That march continues forward with “Divert/Deflect,” a song that shifts back and forth melodically, with guitar chords that perfectly match the tone of its lyrics and title. While O’Brien’s drumming remains steady with the pacing, the ends of the melody are softened a tiny bit for the next song to in part allow for more bass guitar work, “Artificial Stars,” in which Smith shows off his vocal range, and the guys join on backing vocals. It is truly earworm worthy. The shift in chords and guitarwork continues on “Zombie Zeroes,” which also features some fabulous solo guitarwork.
The middle song on the album, “No Cap,” kicks off strongly with charging vocals, backing vocals echoing the repeated titular chorus, guitars, and drums. Good punk music has created decades of interactive shows between bands and their fans, and I think “No Cap” will quickly become a crowd favorite on tour, as fans can easily repeat that portion of the song. The next song, “Sicko Rants,” does indeed feature a great lyrical rant delivered by Smith. The band continues their tight-knit melodic style that hasn’t let up once on the album. Kick drums rule the roost on “Checked Out,” as does the guitarwork and all too tired of it mentality of current times on “Checked Out”. Bass and drums in your face? You’ve got it on “Look Forward In Anger,” especially during the intro to the song. Smith’s vocals again shine on this one. The laughter to close the track is a nice touch. The next song, “BSS,” has excellent chants and lyrics that direct anger, taking me back to 80’s punk in the best ways and continue the animosity of the last few songs well. Is it over? Not quite, according to the track listing, but “Last Time” may disagree lyrically. Luckily, there’s one more song on this album, and the intro is crafted perfectly to resemble the titular creature through frenetic guitar playing. Kudos. “Mosquito Crucifixion” is a gorgeous punk and power pop melody with in-your-face lyrics. Which is more of the same, fittingly and thankfully, that we’ve come to discover on this album that is consistently good and worth listening to.
All that being said, The Bridges That We Burn gets 4 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. As a reminder, this is relative to all new 2026 releases. It stands out as among the better portion of new releases, and there’s a lot to like. I’d say this album falls well within the upper echelon of the 4 Scum Drop territory, so the 80th-83rd percentile to me. For fans of the three individual artists, for appreciators of any decade of punk or power pop, and those who love an alternative vibe as well, will dig this release. Add it to your collection on the format of your choosing. One place to pick up the orange vinyl is here.
I’ll always advocate that you take the time to listen to every album in its entirety. The listening process with The Bridges That We Burn will take just over half an hour from start to finish, and just over an hour if you listen twice back-to-back. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs without the influence or bias of others. After several listens, I found the songs highlighted in green below to be my favorites on this album.
The tracklist for The Bridges That We Burn (song length)
- Darwin Awards (3:34)
- Divert/Deflect (2:19)
- Artificial Stars (3:18)
- Zombie Zeroes (3:11)
- No Cap (3:43)
- Sicko Rants (3:04:)
- Checked Out (3:07)
- Look Forward In Anger (3:00)
- BSS (1:56)
- Last Time (3:12)
- Mosquito Crucifixion (2:14)
Total runtime: 32:43
For more music from the band, check out their Linktree, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp. Find out when they’re on tour via their Bandsintown page. And check out their socials: Instagram, Facebook.
Thank you for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time,
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
