Album Details

• Artist: The Riverboat Gamblers
• Album: Underneath The Owl
• Label:
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: tosnob on 2009-02-25

Good, or even passable, punk rock records have become few and far between in recent years. Catchy 3-chord tunes played at a breakneck pace have been replaced by either whiny Emo or atonal rubbish.

Thankfully Texas outfit Riverboat Gamblers have stepped to the plate with their new record Underneath the Owl (out March 10th) to rescue us from this bizarre Hell.

Much like Against Me!, Riverboat Gamblers make fast paced punk with all the hooks you could ask for...and they manage to do it without a whiff of bubblegum.

The album opens with the incendiary "DissDissDissKissKissKiss", likely the hardest cut on the record. Guitars blaze while vocalist Mike Wiebe barks the frenetic lyrics.

Songs like "Pilgrims In an Unholy Land" and "A Choppy, Yet Sincere Apology" add the roll back into the rock n' roll.

The band does some straying from their comfort zone as well. "Robots May Break Your Heart" begins with a mechanical, angular Joy Division-influenced beat before moving into the rollicking punk theme of the album.

"The Tearjerker" gives us some twang as the band tries their hand at a (nominally) country lament.

If you are looking for a punk oasis on the desolate corporate music landscape, you have found one in Riverboat Gamblers.

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