It would be easier to say that this new Swingin’ Utters album is exactly what we’ve come to expect from them: good ol’ fashioned cranky Celtic punk rock with a Californian twist. Yet Here, Under Protest seemingly comes from out of nowhere, as far as the band’s oeuvre is concerned, and propels the Utters signature salty-sentiments into vigorous outbursts and flaming exaltations of the spirit. In fact, the opener “Brand New Lungs” sounds so much like Bad Religion that you’ll be running for the liner notes to see if Greg Graffin has jumped ship. Apparently, some 14 years into the fray, vocalist Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel and company are still upping their game and smoothing out those raw street-hardened edges. Oh, they’re still bitter, but just smoother.

Here, Under Protest’s next frenetic spark of genius ignites on the adolescent detour “Taking the Long Way” with its Green Day-calibre energy and the mathy, guitar-ruled number “Sketch Squandered Teen.”

Mustering its gumption for the rockabilly groove of “Bent Collector of 1,000 Limbs,” the nu-folk quintet conjures memories of Heavy Trash as it strums its way through a disenchanted urban forest. The phrase “I’m so broke I can’t even give a damn” springs to mind as bassist-vocalist Spike Slawson (Me First and the Gimme Gimmes) recalls the Sex Pistols and its never-ending feud with the dissolution of the purpose of being. This impoverished vehemence comes in total contrast to the softer arches of “Kick it Over” and the brighter tidings of “Good Things” with its Miltonian to-do list of summertime wishes. And while the Swingin’ Utters admit that “some thoughts aren’t meant to be spoken,” they can’t resist an emotional rebound by piling up the rockalicious riffs in earnest. Bloodied but unbowed, Bonnel and Slawson may have begun their careers as the stubborn lads who didn’t heed their mothers. But now, they’ve grown into the older brothers we should have listened to.