Life’s A Journey Album Review

As soon as you start listening to the Rabble it’s hard to not draw comparisons between a bunch of 90’s punk and ska bands; bands like Rancid, Good Riddance, Green Day and so on.  Their latest release Life’s A Journey would easily sit amongst anything released by any of those bands; while there’s nothing distinctive about the music on the album, the songs are all well written and the recording is first class.

They’re clearly a band that has worked hard to hone and perfect their sound, even if it is a sound borrowed almost verbatim from their influences, and there’s a polish to the 17 songs on the album that is lacking in the songwriting of many bands in the punk arena.

The content of the songs tends to be political and social commentary, rants against everything from the NRA (Gunning For The NRA), to mainstream pop music (Can’t Relate To You).  With many songs featuring shout along choruses and upbeat verses I can see them becoming powerful live anthems, particularly if the live show is as polished as the recorded version.

Guest appearances by Al Barr of the Dropkick Murphys and Mark Civitarese of Unseen show the esteem the band must be held in by others in the scene, and are telling of the international quality of the album.

At 17 tracks the album felt a little long and drawn out, requiring a bit of effort to get through it in one sitting.  I would have preferred a slightly shorter album, but you can’t complain about value for money with Life’s A Journey, and those who are into the Rabble’s sound will probably still find themselves wishing for more.