Joe Shithead Keithley

Band Of Rebels

[3/5]

One thing’s certain after hearing Band Of Rebels’ first couple tracks: the indefatigable Joey Shithead is still a wild man. It’s obvious he’s having a ball as horns blare on the upbeat “Rebel Kind” and while wielding his finest Jamaican accent on the Caribbean-flavored “Bust Me Loose.” But the frontman of long-running Canadian hardcore-punk pioneers D.O.A. really shines on the songs that aren’t so in-your-face. Okay, “When Power Came To Canada” is an insanely rowdy beaut. But many of the finer tracks are more laid-back and understated (the indescribably cool “Armageddon Time” and “Men For All Ages,” a ska-laced ode to the Star Trek crew who “always strove for honor, never fought for gold”). And the socio-political edge expected from Keithley is still alive and well on songs like “Wake Me Up For The Revolution” and “Fuck The Corporation”?those rap-like vocals, however, are suspect. (SUDDEN DEATH) Janelle Jones

J