Album: It’s a Beautiful Future
Label: Rebel Time Records, Clandestine DIY Collective, G7 Welcoming Committee Records, Out of Tune Records
Rating: 4/5
The Rebel Spell’s It’s a Beautiful Future is an embodiment of what punk rock is supposed to resemble; an uncompromising lyrical molestation of the senses that is fearless in its onslaught of confronting social injustices. Without the presence of ambiguity, the album is a raw, abrasive, stripped-down DIY entity that strikes a voice for the little man through the subversion of mainstream ideals.
There is no time to waste as The Rebel Spell (out of Vancouver) relentlessly blast through 12 songs of outspoken attacks on what they deem troublesome with the world we live in. “Beautiful Future” is a sarcastic sneer towards our impending doom while “Uncontrollable” angrily leads a rebellious uprising against the oppressive forces of the powers that be.
Personifying the simplistic style of punk rock, The Rebel Spell infuse their commentary with a highly regimented mode of aesthetics. Throughout the duration of the album, the band incorporates a minimalistic use of chords (3-4 at the most), aggressive in-your-face drum patterns, and angry, venom seared verbalism directed towards anyone who has had the gall to piss these punk rockers off.
At times, however, there are concerns that the album will delve into parody as a result of thematic repetition, but the band quickly abolishes any thought of redundant blather by providing a highly energized presentation of the material.
There are traces of Bad Religion, The Offspring, and Rise Against filtered throughout, but The Rebel Spell understand how to incorporate (rather than copy and paste) their influences into assisting them personalize this album.
It’s a Beautiful Future truly breathes fresh air into the punk rock scene!
