CJ WILDHEART is a Pop/Punk musician who has been in the business for a long time and has a storied career! Lives is a batch of re-records and remixes from a variety of releases, both solo and with THE WILDHEARTS. Devilspit Records released this collection of updates on May 30, 2022. CJ plays everything but drums on this one, using his friend Jason Bowld (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) for those duties. Without delving into which are remixed and which are re-recorded, just know this is a killer collection of songs, mostly in the Punk Rock vein. "State Of Us" has a killer bass riff to start off and some killer screamy/gritty vocals in places. The rhythm is pretty awesome, but gets even better when they go for the chorus and it goes next level!

Other Songs, like "Little Flower," are more Pop/Punk and have killer grooves. There is no pretentious, over-produced music on this album. Instead, you get a well-produced, but still kind of raw tone that fits the Punk sensibility well. I know it sounds weird talking about Punk music and sensibility in the same sentence, but this is not the 70s and this is all Punk attitude while being more accessible to the general music fan.

"Peking Duc"" is one of my favorite songs on the disc. It is choppy and chaotic and beautifully done! The riff for the heavy sections is really heavy, giving the song a crossover Heavy Metal feel. It's such a wild contrast to songs like "50 Percent Indian," which has a straight Punk Rock groove. The lyrics are quite weird and will probably piss a few people off, but that is what Punk likes to do! "Lemonade Girl" is catchy and strange and funny, again things Punk Rock excel at. The song is quirky. It has chants and grooves and leads and backing vocals and tons of fast paced rhythms and riffs that hook the ear. Two songs later, you get "FUBAR," another heavy song with a more crossover Thrash Metal feel and some rap style lyrical delivery.

This album is all over the place and that is a beautiful thing. With more than three decades of experience under his belt, CJ WILDHEART is updating some of the earlier stuff to reflect new technologies, new attitudes, new styles and new processes. The whole thing works as an ode to all things Punk. Even the crossing over into the heavier metal styles works well on this one. There are tons of hooks and grooves that will get embedded in your brain and take up residence.