...And Out Come The Wolves

'In the wake of the Offspring's success, Rancid became a hot band, earning a dedicated cult and sparking a major-label bidding war. After flirting with a handful of major labels, the band decided to stick with Epitaph and returned with And Out Come the Wolves. While the title is a veiled reference to the attention the band gained, the album doesn't mark an isolationist retreat into didactic, defiantly underground {punk rock}. Instead, Rancid develop their own identity on the record, which ironically makes them more accessible. Although they continue to draw heavily from the Clash and the Specials -- and their roots in the ska-punk band Operation Ivy are quite clear throughout the record -- the band plays with such energy and conviction, it's easy to forgive their derivativeness. On the whole, And Out Come the Wolves is a little too long to make a major impact, but individual tracks are classic moments of revivalist punk, including the skittering 2-Tone tribute Time Bomb.' ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide