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Not Quite Rebels

Schoolyard Riot (2005)
self-released

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: Anchors
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on January 13th 2006

There comes a time in the life of every band where they just have to grow up. Blink-182 did it, Sum 41 did it, and so have many of the other pop-punk bands who wouldn’t have thought twice about including poop, dick, and fart jokes in their songs. Not Quite Rebels have yet to come to that point, and their aptly titled record Schoolyard Riot is proof of this.

Bearing many similarities to old Blink-182, the band motors through ten tracks with out of key harmonies, basic riffs, and ridiculous lyrics. And when I say ridiculous lyrics, that’s really not any sort of exaggeration. “Homecoming Hangover” exemplifies just what I’m talking about, but it’s the chorus in particular that really sounds of Cheshire Cat-era Blink-182;

Looked down, my pants are gone, thank God I had clean boxers on.

The maturity level doesn’t ever rise far past that, but I suppose it’s all in good fun, as long as the band isn’t expecting anyone to take them even close to seriously. It’s not even so much the lyrics that are troubling, but the delivery really leaves a lot to be desired. It’s not only irregular, but it greatly varies from song to song. It’s really just..off, not only in the inflection, but just the way the lyrics come out. You can tell it’s all being sung by the same person, but between the varied, off-key sounds, and the actual delivery, there’s no semblance of unity in any of the songs. It’s primarily monotone, with a little bit more of a growl to it once he gets going a bit more loudly. The instrumentation is just as inconsistent, unfortunately. There’s a lot of improper tunings, and a lot of spots where it just sounds like they missed a chord or two. Without deviating at all from a three-chord formula, something like that becomes extremely noticeable.

If this is music made by 17 and 18-year-olds, for other 17 and 18-year-olds to be played at high school talent shows, it’s not half bad, but beyond that they fall flat on their faces.

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usuckballs (March 23, 2006)

yeh i agree with the review they are a little childish in my opinion this band want to apeal to a very young crowd so they can molest them i also have come to believe that the lead singer is a cool teacher mostlikely because the kids get away with every thing aside for their love 4 little childern uif they gorw up a bit they might get good

Anonymous (February 2, 2006)

this CD is amazing.
i must disagree with this review 100%
and i'm sure the rest of the NQR fans would too.
And believe me there's a lot of us.
And the boys in this band aren't "imature"
they're just having fun.
get over it.

GreatStoryOfApathy (January 14, 2006)

He's an English teacher.

HA!

The irony just hit me. The reviewer made fun of his writing for being childish, and he teaches English. That just makes this review even funnier (not because it was bad, because they are bad).

Maybe he doesn't write the lyrics, but he sings them.

Anonymous (January 14, 2006)

what does he teach?

Anonymous (January 14, 2006)

a disgruntled wino with bad taste in music, i'm guessing

GreatStoryOfApathy (January 13, 2006)

Wow.

HA!

The singer is a teacher at my school, he's going to be my teacher in about a month, and they do play "high school talent shows".

This really makes me wonder about how you guys find CDs to review. Especially since it's a staff writer. How did you come across this CD?

the_other_scott (January 13, 2006)

onetruebill

its not wrong. as much as blink 182 and sum 41 sucked, at least they were pretty much just playing shit that they wanted. they had fun with it. when blink "blew up" it wasn't cool to be a poppunk band, they weren't following any sort of main stream trend and cashing in on it.

with these screamo bands, they all seriously look exactly the same. and they sound like ass, but they've worked really hard for that sound while i'm willing to bet "all the small things" took about 30 minutes to write.

anyways.

TheOneTrueBill (January 13, 2006)

I'm not saying this is good (i've never heard it) but remember when Blink 182 and Sum 41 were the butt of every joke, before this whole screamo shit blew up? Is it wrong that I'm looking back and thinking that those really weren't that bad in comparison?

KirbyPuckett (January 13, 2006)

The artwork made me punch a baby.

- Kirby