Playin' to Live, Livin' to Play

Playin' to Live, Livin' to Play shows a change in the lineup of the River City Rebels — with former trumpet player Dan McCool now on vocals — and a serious revision of the punk sound has occurred as well. While the Rebels still have a trombone and sax player, they are thrown so far down in the mix that their impact on the album is negligible. This is a punk band through and through — forget any notion of ska music. They're now writing catchier, more Rancid-like punk tunes — punk with a little "umph!" — and they even have punked themselves out with the studded belts and tattoos. This could be the next generation of Rancid-type music, it's just too bad that it's all been done before. Still, not a bad release and if this pattern of regeneration continues, the River City Rebels show themselves as a band who might do something quite noteworthy.