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Album Details

• Artist: River City Rebels
• Album: Hate To Be Loved
• Label: Victory
• Year of Release: 2004
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: hstisgod on 2004-12-16

What do you get when you mix 70's Roots Punk, 80's Glam Rock and all the brass the two genres can handle without spilling over like an overfull glass of orange juice? Victory Records recording artists River City Rebels, and their fourth LP, "Hate To Be Loved".

Like the redheaded stepchild of every rock band in the last 20 years, this album stares the entire recording industry with not a care in the world. Bright pink liner notes, and model like poses and smiles from each of its members is the least of the over abundant hamming out present on this product. With that out of the way, how bout the music? It's quite impossible to compare these guys to any one artist in particular; they have somehow achieved the moniker 'Sounds like everyone on cocaine'. Track one "Hurt Like I do" is a sour noted Punk ballad proving you're never too punk to complain. "Does a black heart love the same, and can a pair of these stay in love? I'll make you hurt like I Do, and I'll never think twice".

Track two is certainly something more to talk about, and promptly what Rebels fans have become accustomed to. Brass, and Guitar hold hands as this song with bounce saves face for track one. Pushed to the limit, this track features blends of one chord punk strums, esophagus emptying glam screams, and quick minded guitar solos that would make pop garage sensations Jet feel foolish. Quickly switching over to track three the title track "Hate to be loved", one has to wonder if the song even changed. Still an appealing brass and one chord method, this time you'll be serenaded with a low voiced bridge just before the song hits its climax. With song titles such as "Dreamy 17", "Glitter and Gold", and "Don't mess with Cupid" no critic will have the right to accuse these guys of pretending to be something they're not. More enticing to the traditional punk fan may be track nine "I wilt", coupling together the sounds of The Ramones, and The Supertones while the lyrical content carries the same direction. "Without a word, I wilt. Without a sound, I wilt, I wilt away." Screaming with a drum pedal backbone, this song showcases an obvious talent for live shows.

Surely throwing together a blistering 2 minutes 30 seconds is "Her New Man". Starting off more like Reverend Horton Heat, this track hybrid's more than just a Rockabilly Punk and Ska sound. I couldn't tell you exactly why but somewhere in this track I'm reminded of the Bop Rock sound of the fifties. Throw in the occasional piano and violin as a topping. Like fudge on top of a banana split fans of Buckcherry, Catch 22, The Ramones, and Guns N Roses may find themselves enthralled with such a record. But from the sounds of this record so far, this is the kind of material better suited to be heard live in some random bar first, then a trip to your local indie store.

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