SONIC REBELLION - review added 26th May 2010
Album Review: Heads We Win... Tails You Lose (2010)
For fans of: Alt Rock... and, er, Cat Stevens...
New York based Sonic Rebellion - Andy Smith on vocals, Lefty on guitars, Dustin Smith on bass, and Sean Pokress on drums - formed in 2007, although the present line-up was only pulled together in 2009.
Heads We Win... Tails You Lose is the band's debut album and sees the guys putting out a thumping mix of styles. The bedrock of the album is split between punky pop and classic rock. There are definite nods to Led Zeppelin and older AC/DC, New York Dolls, Lynyrd Skynyrd and vintage Aerosmith. There also hints of numerous other, even more diverse acts, the most noticeable being the Cat Stevens vocals in 'I Got Mine'.
As a whole the album has plenty of attitude and a good fun nature, but it struggles for identity and isn't particularly memorable. When the guys get it right it works beautifully, but it spends too much time simply being average. To be fair to them, Sonic Rebellion do very little wrong on Heads We Win... Tails You Lose, but they don't do anywhere near enough right.
The best moments include the rampaging rock opener 'Awake Now', that Cat Stevens baiting 'I Got Mine', and the Southern U.S. charms of 'Find My Way'. Otherwise, it's all okay but unexceptional.
The potential is there, but Sonic Rebellion don't quite have the songs to hit the big time yet. They'll be a blast on the stage, and don't be surprised if the next album is pretty damn good. As is, this release is stuck somewhere in the also-ran league.
Check out... 'I Got Mine'
Track List:
01. Awake Now
02. Song About Revenge
03. Mad As Hell
04. Make It To Midnite
05. I Got Mine
06. Think It Through
07. Find My Way
08. Feel It
09. Bad Trip
10. You're In Kansas
11. No End In Sight
12. Stripped Down
Artist's website(s): Sonic Rebellion , MySpace
