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ESC002 | released July 10, 2007
"Time was this Albany, New York band made a big splash
with a brash and unwholesome attitude. After one album, the
rebellion is here, the band burned out and its founders
- bassist Jed Davis and keyboardist Mike Keaney - took vows
of silence from each other for ten years. One thing led to another
and voila, we have one of the bawdiest, rudest live albums since
Blue Oyster Cult’s On Your Feet Or On Your Knees.
In addition to originals such as “Starlet,” “Smoke”
and “Now I Have A Job,” we’re treated to covers
of “Pablo Picasso,” “Vegetable Man”
and Del Shannon’s “Runaway.” What more could
you ask for? This, ladies and gerbs, is rock ‘n’
roll." - Jedd Beaudoin, The Daily Copper
"A local legend in Albany, N.Y., The Hanslick Rebellion
was hailed as 'perhaps the most formidable and ferocious band'
to emerge from the area, and the rebellion is here
provides sonic evidence why. The quartet originally formed in
1995 and split two years later — reuniting to record The
Deli of Life EP after almost 10 years during which the
band’s two founding members did not speak to each other.
This recently reissued live recording, captured in Albany in
1997, proves that The Hanslick Rebellion deserved the title
of local heroes, full of fast licks and honest, trends-be-damned
attitude. Had the band continued uninterrupted, it’s difficult
to say how far their brand of arty, cynical, witty, unpretentious
and sometimes crass slacker rock would have taken them. (And
who knows where The Hanslick Rebellion will go now?) But at
least The Rebellion Is Here offers a rousing and fun trip back
in time, complete with cunning originals (“The Four-Minute
Mile,” “Leave Your Boyfriend,” “Starlet”
and “Why James Likes Indie Rock,” which borrows
a David Lee Roth line or two) and unexpected covers (Pink Floyd’s
“Vegetable Man,” Del Shannon’s “Runaway”
and a very odd medley that touches on The Archies, Talking Heads
and Lou Reed. The set’s exceptional audio sounds so good
that you can almost smell the Nineties nostalgia—as well
as whiffs of something even more potent." - Michael
Popke, Sea Of Tranquility
"What an interesting disc. the rebellion is here
will probably appeal to college kids or those just out of school,
like myself as of writing this, because it has the sort of off-the-wall
rock mentality, the "we're in this for the fun" feeling
that makes music fun. What's better is that the disc is live,
so the rowdy crowd and band interplay is on full display here,
with ringleader/singer/keyboard player Jed Davis, singer/bassist
Mike Keaney and singer/guitarist Alex Dubovoy enjoying every
moment. While straight-up rock is the norm here, there are enough
little flourishes to keep the songs lodged in the listener's
head. The wicked cover of "Pablo Picasso" blows not
only Jonathan Richman's original out of the water, but seriously
rivals David Bowie's on the coolness factor. This follows the
classic rock of "Grub," which sounds like an early
Aerosmith take, and the funky "Four-Minute Mile,"
which has Bowie and Chili Peppers influences and some excellent
guitar solos. "Smoke" is a bluesy number featuring
piano solos; not necessarily original, but a lot of fun and
rather unpredictable. Much of the disc is that way, actually,
capturing the can-do spirit of the alternative movement and
the fun of (some) indie rock. One gets the idea that the Hanslick
Rebellion doesn't really care about album sales or critics...
they just have a great time playing together, and certainly
they can entertain a crowd. Granted, this all-over-the-map approach
doesn't result in a cohesive band sound - like many debuts,
it's tough to get a feeling for this band's sound, since both
their covers and originals involve several musical ideas. "Natural
Selection" is a good example of this, sounding like a mini-Dream
Theater rock opera with an organ, doom-laden-sounding vocals
and heavy power chords. This gives way to the goofy "Now
I Have A Job," which is led by a great bass riff, some
old-time "Woolly Bully" organ and an infectious spirit...
After a couple of songs, Davis and his bandmates will bait the
crowd with rock cliches (picture Tenacious D), and after whipping
the crowd into a frenzy will pull a 180 and play a subdued pop
piece, such as "We Wait And We Wait." (During one
of these periods, one band member tells the crowd that the next
song is about rock and roll and love in the night, after which
another band member shouts out a possible song title, "Rockin
And Lovin' In The Rock And Roll Night Of Love." Trust me,
it's funnier when you hear it). As with any college-mentality
band, the lyrics and mood can take a turn for the juvenile,
such as "Rump (Da Butt)," "Big Hot Monday"
and the incomprehensible ska "Leave Your Boyfriend,"
which is the only time Sublime and Deep Purple could ever be
influences on one song (more of the former). "Vegetable
Man" is a clunker, but "Sugar Smack" is a medley
of random covers built around the Archies' "Sugar Sugar"
(really). The disc closes with a cover of Del Shannon's "Runaway,"
because, well, why not? But to get to that is to hear the eight-minute
tour de force "Why James Likes Indie Rock," which
is led by fuzz guitar and strident drums (Mike Kearns), turning
it into an elongated slow punk piece with a great instrumental
fade-out. This band gets no airplay except maybe on some hip
college stations, but they have performed on the Checkerboard
Kids and have a couple videos on YouTube and MySpace, most notably
their new song "You Are Boring The Shit Out Of Me."
This is a band that deserves to be famous, and once they find
their sound they could be unstoppable. As it is, though, this
live disc is a great time and certainly one of the most fun
releases of the last few years." - Benjamin Ray, The
Daily Vault
"If this isn't a rebellion, it's at least a welcome break from
indie-rock form. Daringly recorded live before an audience in
Albany, this quartet somehow puts a dozen tracks to tape without
coming off as an upstate bar band. The fondness for playing
clever hooks loudly alongside a nervy, spiky vocal suits these
dirty-minded songs perfectly. It's not punk - it's closer to
what used to be called rock. Alice Cooper sounded like this;
except when Alice had a good idea, he got windy, and when he
ran short on ideas, he got campy. The Hanslick Rebellion falls
prey to neither, and encores their wonderful show about starlets,
moonlight, and wanting to get laid, with a glowing cover of
Del Shannon's 'Runaway.' It's as if alternative-rock never happened."
- Mark Keating, Sound Views |
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| no scheduled performances |
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