Whiskey Rebels

Sacto punk warriors the Whiskey Rebels’ second full-length CD hits you like a stiff drink. Create or Die is a solid album of working-class street rock. Impassioned lyrics drive it forward thematically with songs like “To Be Poor Is a Crime,” about working families struggling in Sacramento. In the Dropkick Murphys vein of oi!, raw but catchy songs about drinking, fighting, honor and death are propelled by shouted harmonies and bold power-chord hooks (some of which are played by Rebels bassist and SN&R contributing writer Jimmy Calanchini). “Street Corner Gospel” has a booze-soaked rebel weighing the bottle and the Bible, and “Create or Die” is a fist-pumping anthem to the creative spirit. Raise your glass and listen up; this band has tons of two-fisted energy and won’t be going away anytime soon.