Last year, THE RABBLE from Auckland, New Zealand, went on their first major tour in Europe. The band was promoted by many magazines like Plastic Bomb and Wahrschauer. As a punk band from New Zealand, the three guys definitely have an exotic bonus, which naturally brings attention.
Now their album “The Battle is Over” is available, which, as far as I know, was already available as an import during the band's tour in 2009, but is now presumably available regularly. Those who didn't purchase the record back then now have the opportunity to catch up. The packaging is definitely worth it. The CD comes in an elaborate, elegant digipack that has been printed with high quality. Inside the digipack, alongside the CD, there is a booklet and a small poster. One side of the poster has a posing style reminiscent of the star posters from Bravo twenty years ago. So definitely keep it away from the little sister, or else it will end up on her wall.
However, the sound of THE RABBLE is not as exotic as one might think. The three guys have all been into punk since their youth, which is hardly played in New Zealand since the scene there is not particularly large. The trio's ears have always been directed towards the USA but also towards Europe. This is clearly reflected in their sound. It somewhat reminds one of Frontkick, a bit of The Casualties, but definitely a lot of California punk of the harder variety.
What one must give THE RABBLE credit for is that their sound is extremely melodic, and the arrangements are absolutely precise and clean. The melodies quickly get stuck in your head and are catchy.
I miss a bit of the attitude and the hardness in the songs. As punks with colorful, tall mohawks and leather jackets, the overall sound is a bit tame, more aimed at the younger generation as a gateway drug. There are exceptions like “This World is Dead,” but those are the exceptions that prove the rule.
THE RABBLE have delivered a solid album with “The Battle´s almost over” (but the war has just begun), which could still use a bit more individuality and attitude.
