Having reached the
John Cougar Mellencamp stage of his career, could it be that
D.O.A. frontman Joey Shithead is transforming into a mature artist? Yeah, not so much.
Band of Rebels is Keithley's first solo album, but it's just as much a Vancouver punk supergroup, featuring members of
D.O.A., the
Grapes of Wrath, and many lesser-known lights of the BC punk and indie scenes. Though Keithley's hardcore roots show through, there are ska, rockabilly, reggae, metal and funk riffs threaded throughout
Band of Rebels; "Fuck the Corporation" even finds Keithley rapping, after a fashion. At fifty minutes and 14 songs, the album is a little padded: the covers of "Born to Be Wild" and "Goodnight Irene" in particular are cute but inessential. But for the most part,
Band of Rebels sounds like Keithley invited all of his friends into the studio for a party and released the good-humored, occasionally silly but just as often inspired results as an album. ~ Stewart Mason