Review: Feel Never Real – Rock Rebel Gold
Artist: Feel Never Real
Album: Rock Rebel Gold
Rating: 10/10
It’s not very often that I hear of a band from the south, let alone Texas, getting signed anymore so when I heard that DFW’s Feel Never Real had gotten signed, I was immediately intrigued. Upon hearing the opening track to their new album, Rock Rebel Gold titled “New Rebel”, I knew there was a reason I was so excited about hearing these guys. Not only do they make me proud to be from the Lone Star state but you can tell that they take pride in where they’re from as well! Rock Rebel Gold is filled with nitty-gritty, balls to the wall straight up Rock N Roll, slathered with southern attitude and slapped together to make something truly remarkable. They aren’t your typical radio rock “in it for the money” type of band, they adore their fans just as much as the fans adore them and it’s good to see that these days.
It wasn’t until “Low Class” hit my ears for the first time that I came to realize just what I was getting myself into. But, of course, if you’ve listened to the album… you’ll know that the transition between “Trailerpark Princess” and “Low Class” is anything but subtle. “Low Class” will smack you in the face and will teach you not to worry about the things people say. Texans are known for being called “white trash” but, being from Texas myself, I have found that those people are a dime a dozen. Yes, they’re out there but I guarantee that if they ARE that way, they take pride in it and aren’t afraid to wear their colors proudly. This track addresses the uphill struggle of those who don’t worry about those types of labels. Keep your head up, stay proud and use their comments as fuel to your creative fire, as vocalist Tim Jones clearly did here. The next track can only be described as the companion track to “Low Class”. “Kiss My Ass” is about finding out who your friends are when you finally get on the track to realizing (or fulfilling) your dreams. It’s also about not letting the industry keep you down and remembering to keep your creative fire going, be yourself and don’t conform to what’s “going to sell records”. Music isn’t music if you don’t enjoy creating it and you can truly tell what’s been forced by a label and what is genuinely creative juices from the band themselves.
The oddest track on the album is titled “D.I.I.X.”, now..before you go and point out the obvious sexual connotations in the title, let me assure you that this is exactly what you think it is. A raw, dirty, sexual song that will get the ladies shakin’ their asses and stripping down… but the song has a comical nature that’s hard to ignore. To avoid DIRECTLY attacking the sexual undertones this song displays proudly… you will find that “D.I.I.X.” is referred to as “Dinosaurs Interested In Xylophones”. Pretty odd, I’d say but this is a very enjoyable track whether you accept the true subject matter or not. It made me laugh the first time I heard it because how often do you hear something like “Dinosaurs Interested In Xylophones”? It’s pretty clear that vocalist Tim Jones wrote this song for the ladies, though and I’m sure they dedicate it as such when playing it live.
I want to leave some surprises for you all, but one thing is for sure, from first listen I was in love with Rock Rebel Gold and it’s sure to go down as one of my favorite Pavement Entertainment releases, if not my favorite in general, of the year! Pick up your copy via the links below and discover what it means to hear true, musical Southern Pride.
