''More Betterness!'' is a studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by punk rock band

No Use for a Name No Use for a Name (sometimes abbreviated NUFAN or No Use) was an American punk rock band from Sunnyvale, California, United States formed in 1986 by Chris Dodge (guitar), Steve Papoutsis (bass) and Rory Koff ( drums). The band's sound evolved con ...

, released in 1999. "

Fairytale of New York "Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a du ...

" is a cover of

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse ...

' original, which features guest vocals from

Cinder Block A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them. Th ...

of the band

Tilt Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 ...

Release

''More Betterness!'' was released in October 1999. No Use for a Name co-headlined the Fat Tour, with the

Mad Caddies The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) are a ska punk band from Solvang, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums wor ...

, in February and March 2000. They embarked on a tour of Australia in June 2000. In November 2001, the band toured Arizona and California with

Zero Down Zero Down was an American punk rock trio formed by former Strung Out bassist Jim Cherry, former Down by Law drummer Milo Todesco and former War Called Peace guitarist John McCree. Frontman Cherry (who was also guitarist and songwriter for Strun ...

, HBA, and

Diesel Boy Diesel Boy is an American punk rock band from Santa Rosa, California, United States. They were formed in 1993 and were active until 2002. In 2022, they announced they would release a new album for SBÄM in 2023. They have a 7" on Fat Wreck Ch ...

Critical reception

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' wrote that the album "has the requisite guitar harmonics and occasional thrashing drum part, but mostly it is a pop record along the lines of Blink 182." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' called ''More Betterness!'' "the band’s best-regarded full-length." ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' called it "intelligent punk rock" and a "refreshing change of pace." The ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' called the album "energetic," but noted that all the songs "tend to sound the same."

Track listing

All songs written by

Tony Sly Anthony James Sly (November 4, 1970 – July 31, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the front man of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. In his later years he also gained attention for his acoustic ...

, except where noted. # "Not Your Savior" – 3:45 # "Life Size Mirror" – 3:10 # "Chasing Rainbows" – 2:49 # "Lies Can't Pretend" – 2:48 # "Why Doesn't Anybody Like Me?" – 3:09 # "Sleeping In" – 3:06 # "Fairytale of New York" (

Jem Finer Jeremy Max Finer (born 20 July 1955) is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues. Life and career Finer was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, the son of political scientist Samuel Finer. He took ...

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacG ...

) – 4:04 # "Pride" – 3:06 # "Always Carrie" – 2:46 # "Let It Slide" – 2:15 # "Six Degrees from Misty" – 2:39 # "Coming Too Close" – 3:18 # "Saddest Song" – 4:00 # "Room 19" – 3:20

Personnel

No Use for a Name *

- vocals and guitar *

Chris Shiflett Christopher Aubrey Shiflett ( ; born May 6, 1971) is an American musician. He is most recognizable as lead guitarist for the American rock band Foo Fighters. He was previously a member of the punk rock bands No Use for a Name (1995–1999) an ...

– guitar *

Matt Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inactive du ...

– bass * Rory Koff – drums Additional musicians *

- backing vocals on "Fairytale of New York"

References

No Use for a Name albums 1999 albums Fat Wreck Chords albums Albums produced by Ryan Greene {{1990s-punk-album-stub