Jersey's Best Dancers

Jersey's Best Dancers is the third studio album by American punk rock band Lifetime. It was released on June 10, 1997, through Jade Tree Records. Background and production With the release of their second studio album Hello Bastards in September 1995, Lifetime solidified their line-up as Ari Katz on vocals, Dan Yemin and Pete Martin on guitar, Dave Palaitis on bass, and Scott Golley on drums. The album, which earned the band a dedicated following, was promoted with tours of the United States and European territories. By early 1996, Lifetime began writing material for their next album. In June 1996, the band recorded an album at Trax East in South River, New Jersey, with Steve Evetts. In spite of nearly finishing the sessions, Lifetime felt some of the tracks needed further refinement. "The Boy's No Good" was released as a single in August 1996, with "Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey" as the B-side, to build hype for their next album. The band toured the US and Europe again over the course of the next few months. After returning home, the band returned to the studio, where they completed recording Jersey's Best Dancers in January 1997. Composition and lyrics Musically, the sound of Jersey's Best Dancers has been described as melodic hardcore, hardcore punk, punk rock, and pop-punk. Bart Niedzialkowski of Punk Planet said Lifetime's "formula was simple: hard, fast and aggressive punk rock touched up with a healthy dose of melody". He said the lyrics tackled "deeply personal and emotional tinges" that made for a "raw and searing combination of uncompromising hardcore punk and smart, introspective writing". The album's opening track, "Turnpike Gates", starts with fast-tempo guitarwork and drum parts, before giving way to Katz's lyrics on lost love. The title of "Young, Loud, and Scotty" cribs its name from a Dead Boys release; an alternative version of the track was previously released on the compilation Punk Uprisings Vol. 2 (1997).