River City Rebels

Relocated to Takoma, WA, regrouping again, and preparing to record a fifth album, the River City Rebels were selling this homemade EP at their gigs in the Northwest during the summer of 2006. Its seven tracks gave a good indication of a band in transition. There were two tracks borrowed from their third album, Playin' to Live, Livin' to Play ("6 A.M.," "Smalltown Pride"), that showed them to be a raucous punk rock band in the style of the early Clash and Boomtown Rats. Then there were two tracks from their fourth album, Hate to Be Loved ("Her New Man," "Bloody April"), that seemed to show them moving toward more of a traditional rock & roll style, and even leaning toward heartland rock, particularly on "Bloody April," a ballad with strings. The three new songs -- a rough mix of "Sick Kids" and demos of "Lost In" and "Letter in Transit" -- furthered the change in style, even throwing in folk and country elements. For a band that started out as a ska outfit, the changes were surprising, and Pikes EP sounded like the work of more than one band. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide