{"id":28605,"date":"2024-07-20T07:57:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T05:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/addtowantlist.com\/?p=28605"},"modified":"2024-07-20T08:33:45","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T06:33:45","slug":"new-album-real-rejects-not-allowed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/addtowantlist.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/20\/new-album-real-rejects-not-allowed\/","title":{"rendered":"New album: Real Rejects || Not Allowed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two weeks ago, Real Rejects (formerly Thee Artificial Rejects) dropped two of the best garage punk tracks<\/a> I’d heard in 2024 yet. That statement became dated once I heard their nine-song debut album – one that easily fits on a 10″ 45RPM record.<\/p>\n

From the OCD anthem opener I’m Not Allowed<\/em>, it’s clear that Real Rejects are sonic alchemists, turning raw noise into pure gold. This quintet, all veterans from the Moncton (Canada) scene – T.J. Cabot (Phone Jerks, Nerve Button), Jesse Leblanc (Feral Trash), Claude Doiron (Nerve Button, Bad Luck #13), Sonic Hz, and Cam Murphy (Thee Requiems, Ghostown Belle) – plays with a fervor that is admirable. The bloodied strumming hand of T.J. Cabot on the back cover isn’t just album art; it’s a battle scar.<\/p>\n

Not Allowed<\/em> may be lo-fi, but it roars like a freight train. Even when they ditch the drums on the 70-second Tire Change<\/em>, the song maintains its energy. And even when the chord progressions and melodies sound familiar (like in the amazingly fun one-two punch Bicycle Pit<\/em> and Tin Foil Hat<\/em>), Real Rejects prove that it is not about reinventing the wheel, but how you make it spin. And while the casual listener might zoom in on the amped-up energy, attentive ears will catch the comedic absurdity of the band in lines like “I’m stuck in a baby swing, let me out!” (from Stuck In A Baby Swing<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Not Allowed<\/em> is out now through Alien Snatch! Records. I am definitely buying it.<\/p>\n