The Swedish punk stalwarts return with their boldest record yet!
It’s curious that Europeans are doing such a fine job keeping the late 90s/early 00s Californian skate-punk sound alive. It wasn’t long ago that we reviewed German quartet Noopinion’s excellent sixth record, which boasts more than a few nods to the likes of Good Riddance and Strung Out, and now here are Rebuke with ‘Things One Shouldn’t Have To Say’, continuing in a similar vein.
That said, if there’s one particular band that comes to mind when listening to the likes of ‘Sharp Left Turn (The Trolley Problem)’ and ‘The People’s Technopiate Crisis’, it’s Propagandhi – particularly around their ‘Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes’ heyday. Rebuke share the Canadian quartet’s fondness for short, breakneck-speed songs – packing a whopping eighteen tracks into only 35 minutes here – with fiercely intelligent, confrontational lyrics and no end of jaw-droppingly intense, spidery speed-metal riffing.
Oh, and this record does exactly what it says on the tin…well, in the title. It’s a concept record of sorts, apparently “explored through a parallel timeline where time travel became commercialised”, and – like all the best punk records – is clearly fuelled by a deep discontent about the state of the world as it actually is. Food for the brain and more than enough of an adrenaline jolt to whip any self-respecting pit into a maelstrom – it’s not an easy balance to strike, but Rebuke mostly manage it brilliantly.
Apparently, many of the songs were written as instrumentals before the lyrics were added, and if we were (very) hard pressed to identify any faults here, it’s that occasionally the guitar acrobatics elbow the vocals – and therefore the message – aside somewhat. It’s rare, though, and from the Bad Religion-esque backing vocals on ‘UNO Reverse Card’ to the sublime harmonies of ‘One E Four (Peasants’ Revolt)‘, most tracks boast that extra twist to make them stand out.
Final track ‘A Father’s Child’ lulls us into false complacency with its languid bass-led intro, before bursting into a riff-tastic musical sprint, and you get the impression that that was exactly what Rebuke intended. Well played, guys, and thank you for saying things that – ultimately – still needed to be said.
‘Things One Shouldn’t Have To Say’ is available on physical formats and all digital platforms from February 7th – order it HERE
- Things We Shouldn’t Have To Say
- Head & Tailspin
- UNO Reverse Card
- Brag Rhetorics
- Jordrew Peterfield
- Sharp Left Turn (The Trolley Problem)
- History III: Elective Dungarees
- The First Commercial Time Traveler
- Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism
- touromaticsuk
- Mean Boys’ Stupid Boys’ Club
- The People’s Technopiate Crisis
- One E Four (Peasants’ Revolt)
- Plain Ice
- Aurora Borealis? At This Time Of Year?
- Octopus Hair
- Baby Bathwater
- A Father’s Child
Follow Rebuke on Their Socials:
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Brazilian punks Fantazmaz launch debut album with ferocious single ‘Dead On The Way Home’
We’ve reviewed Fantazmaz’s incendiary live shows at least twice in these pages, so we were delighted to discover that the Brazilian (but UK-based) quartet will
Album review: Liliths Army release third album ‘Doll’
From Northampton, UK, Liliths Army are a trio band best known for touring, including in the US. Their music is a mix of lo-fi punk,
Supersuckers, London New Cross Inn, 10th April 2025
Yes, for the umpteenth time, the Supersuckers are still going! Cynics might say that’s because the veteran Seattle rock n’ roll trio have no plan
The Chords UK, helmed by Chris Pope, release the mammoth 44-track ‘But Then Again: The Best of The Chords UK’
Designed to truly tell the tale of The Chords UK, ‘But Then Again’ is an ambitious and inventive collection, featuring new and previously unreleased tracks,
Ronker, London New Cross Inn, 8th April 2024
We’ve just passed the 31st anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, and it’s safe to say that the much-missed Nirvana frontman would approve heartily of tonight’s
Scarborough Punk Festival: Still Punk’s Best Kept Secret
A killer lineup, coastal views, historic setting and one stage of pure punk energy delivering another unforgettable weekend of music, mates, and mayhem – Scarborough
I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
