Disobey is the infectiously energizing new album from hard rockers The Refusers. It’s loaded with songs that boldly bring together nostalgia and now, with impressive, expressive musicianship at every turn. Playing With Fire starts things off in manner that underlines the band’s sound and songwriting style in a colourful way. The music has the intensity of dark rock but the riffs and passion of classic rock and roll in general, so you get something a little unexpected in among this mildly familiar and satisfying, guitar-led soundscape.
After the opener, the album seeks to showcase a number of different creative angles, opening your mind to who the band really are and impressing you all the more with every step. Why Do They Lie is its own thing entirely, melodically theatrical and lyrically provocative, the verses are short and interesting, the hook has something of an Eminem feel for me, and the musical set-up holds tight to that thread of The Refusers. This one is a definite early highlight, not overloading you with weight and distortion, but rather, driving with creativity and thoughtful writing.
Elsewhere on the project the band lean back and forth between hard and classic rock, which, in essence, turns out to be just the way their sound truly is – free from the confines of genre or expectation. It’s the songwriting and the passionate performances that make it what it is. The album’s title track is an important one and is set up effectively with heavy riffs and plenty of space within which the lyrics can really stand tall. Eruption is equally spacious and highlights the band’s sense of rhythm and funk, bringing something uplifting to the stage – despite the destructiveness expressed within the lyrics. There’s something about it all that makes you feel OK with your possible disconnection from the ways of the world.
Money talks and bull shit walks.
My Baby Loves Rock and Roll has quite precisely the vibe you’d hope for, that Chuck Berry style with a dash of jazz piano – a simple piece of music and performance effectively designed to get you moving. Fake News contrasts quite heavily with the laid back nature of what came before, soaking you with immediately recognisable references that conjure up specific ideas about today’s political world. Government Slave follows and keeps that political energy alive, there’s a certain level of punk-rock vibrancy to a lot of these songs in their carefree addressing of current issues and in their apparent opposition to the rat-race of modern life. The very concept of disobeying feeds into that and speaks volumes throughout the album.
Free The Captives is the penultimate song on the record and offers perhaps the most seductive riffs and melody lines of the entire project. The guitars, the piano, the vocal distance and shortness of verse lines – it leaves its mark quickly and sets an ambiance that works really well; another definite highlight. The hook is stunning. Emancipation follows and marks the final few minutes of music. It’s a colourful, hopeful sounding piece of music, the melodic set-up and the leading voice, as well as the guitars, all feel familiar now and recognisable as The Refusers. The album in full is bold and deals with a lot of things that have likely been playing on the minds of many listeners. Whether you agree with the perspective or not, the very essence of rock music is that rebellious, passionate energy, so it’s worth exploring regardless.
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