3:21pm Saturday 10th April 2010
By Warwick Payne
ONE of Hampshire’s most promising bands, The Rebs, played to a packed audience at The Brook in Southampton to launch their new album.
In a Heartbeat brings together 11 tracks, including the upcoming single, Don’t Fool Yourself, which is out on Monday, April 19.
The album goes on sale on Monday, May 17, although the Chronicle has already heard a copy – but more about that later.
As for the live show, the band, comprising Russell Edmonds on guitars and vocals, Nader Rezaie on bass, Vicky Averre-Beeson on keyboards and Sim Cracknell on drums, did an excellent show.
Amid chants of “Reb army” from the partisan crowd at The Brook, they embarked on the unusual move of playing their album in track listing order.
It was only broken when Russell Edmonds played a couple of acoustic numbers, including an unplugged version of Beta Love from their early days.
Indeed, I remember them playing it three years ago during a midnight gig at The Dorchester Arms in Southampton when they were starting out.
The song is missing from the album, but Russell told the audience that he would play it to “appease the fans”.
Not that the crowd needed much appeasing or any encouragement, as the atmosphere at The Brook on Friday, April 9 was excellent. It was really heart-warming to see so many people coming to support a rising Hampshire band on home turf.
Needless to say there was an encore and The Rebs confirmed their status as one of the best bands on the scene right now.
CD REVIEW: In a Heartbeat by The Rebs
After the ringing in the ears from the live show had abated, it seemed a good moment to give The Rebs’ CD a careful listen.
Some might label their music as catchy rock, but that over-simplifies their sound.
The Rebs strike a happy balance between writing songs that would pass the old grey whistle test without being mindless pop. Their tunes have a rare mixture of quality and catchiness.
The latest single, Don’t Fool Yourself, and Flesh and Bones certainly come into that category.
Indeed, it is hard to know which track to start humming first after you finish listening to the album, as they all end up competing for attention.
With that in mind, it is hardly surprising that they won the Road to V Festival in 2008. Perhaps the only shock is that they have not become a household name already.
For more details about The Rebs, and to buy the album from Monday, May 17, visit www.therebs.co.uk.
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