For all those unaware, if live performance remains as the great leveler in the world of rock and roll, then USELESS ID floats above the rest with their forthcoming set, Live in Tel Aviv (to be released April 21st, 2023 via Double Helix Records).

“Live In Tel Aviv is a recording from our 25th anniversary tour in our hometown of Israel, where we normally celebrate the milestones of the band with a special show,” explains vocalist/bassist and central songwriter Yotam Ben Horin. “Though we had no idea it would be at the time, it was our last show in Israel before lockdown. We were at the top of our game, so I really felt we caught some lightning in a bottle with the recording.”

Live in Tel Aviv captures the raw energy of the band’s stage show, spread over a staggering 28 songs and shot through with an addictive dose of musical rocket fuel. From the urgent opening notes of “Land Of Idiocracy” to the poignant politicism of album closer, “State Of Fear,” the torrential onslaught refuses to let up.

Side A:
1. Land Of Idiocracy
2. Stopwatch
3. Deny It
4. Borrowed Time
5. Mouse In A Maze
6. Turn Up The Stereo
7. Unhappy Hour

Placing the first of the vinyl LP’s on the turntable, putting the needle on and sitting down for what was already expected to be an onrushing musical tsunami, first out the gate is the melodical molotov cocktail of the one minute Land Of Idiocracy and the frenetically-charged Stopwatch and then we get the rhythmical punk-pop of both Deny It and Borrowed Time, then comes the hard rocking Mouse In A Maze, the side rounding out on one of their most melodic punk rock tracks ever, Turn Up The Stereo and the quietly manic sixty-seconder Unhappy Hour.

Side B:
8. How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb
9. Genetic
10. Before It Kills
11. Pink Stars And Magazines
12. Punx On The Other Side
13. Local Expert
14. Too Bad You Don’t Get It
15. Tour Song #2
16. Night Shift
17. At The Stadium
18. Before I Go

Flipping the first vinyl over and next we get the dangerously dope How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb (and no, it has nothing to do with the U2 song) and the frenetically drum-led Genetic and then comes the deeply-lyrically romp of Before It Kills, the genuine foot-tapper Pink Stars And Magazines, and then we get a slew of less-than-a-minute manifesto cuts in the form of Punx On The Other Side, Local Expert, the reggae-tinged Too Bad You Don’t Get It, the rambunctious Tour Song #2, the side closing on the pop-punk flow of Night Shift (I got a sunburn on night shift), the boisterous At The Stadium, and the love-rocked Before I Go.

Side C:
19. Dying Love
20. At Least I Tried
21. Always The Same
22. Bring Me Down
23. Blood Pressure

Swapping the vinyl over on the turntable, recorded at Tel Aviv’s The Barby on August of 2019, up first on the third side is the effervescent Dying Love, the mid-tempo rocker At Least I Tried and then comes the lyrically-grounded Always The Same (Are you here to save the world? The odds are running against you. Every day the same impression that something will change), the side rounding out on the drum-led banger Bring Me Down and the catchy hooks within Blood Pressure.

Side D:
24. It’s Alright
25. Kiss Me Kill Me
26. Night Stalker
27. Isolate Me
28. State Of Fear

Flipping the second vinyl over on these 28 songs for 28 years, the Israeli punk outfit next brings us the softer side of punk rock on It’s Alright and the tirelessly upbeat Kiss Me Kill Me, the atmospherically-charged rocker Night Stalker is along next, the entire recording closing on an anthem for 2020, the wrenching plea within Isolate Me and a track they put out on Rock Against Bush in 2004, State Of Fear.

Useless ID is: Yotam Ben Horin, Ishay Berger, Guy Carmel, and Corey Ben Yehuda and Live In Tel Aviv was mixed by Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room.

Releasing as a trio of 2LP vinyl variants, to ensure a high-fidelity listening experience, the lacquers for which were cut by Wes Garland at Nashville Record Productions in Nashville, Tennessee, the vinyl then hand-pressed by Burlington Record Plant in Burlington, Vermont.

Mixed and mastered by Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room – where so many of these classic songs were originally recorded by Bill Stevenson and Livermore – Live In Tel Aviv showcases a veritable best-of from Useless ID’s immense catalog, which dates back to 1994 and spans eight full-length albums, along with myriad EPs, splits, singles, and compilations.

Official Purchase Link

USELESS ID @ Facebook

USELESS ID @ Bandcamp

www.doublehelixrecords.com