Rock & roll has always been about transcending the banality of your everyday surroundings. Or, when it's good that's what it's about anyway. The Constantines know this; it comes through in their lyrics, in their work ethic, in their performances, and particularly on this, their debut album. When this record was first released on Three Gut Records in 2001, it was only available in their native Canada. It went on to be nominated for a Juno Award and very nearly broke the record for the longest charting album in Canadian campus radio history. And it garnered universal praise from the music press; Magnet even said it was "the antidote for every boring and insincere rock record I've heard this year." Following the success of the Constantines' second album, "Shine A Light," their self-titled debut is now available outside of Canada for the first time. "Constantines" is an excellent companion piece to "Shine a Light," charting the band's impressive early progress. Musically the blueprint has changed very little: dub-inflected DC post-hardcore by way of Strummer and Springsteen.