Brent Loveday

.. .. ....Tears Before Breakfast I Scream Records 5 StarsFor those fans waiting patiently for the next Social Distortion album (slated to be recorded sometime at the end of this year or in early 2010) the wait might be made easier with the release of Reno Divorce’s third full-length album, Tears Before Breakfast. While their sound isn’t exactly the same, many of the same strong elements can be found in Reno Divorce’s songs, and those aren’t bad footsteps to follow. The sound is decidedly punk rock with that same slightly sunny West Coast feel but with a heavier dose of country influenced punk. The songs are well-written, emotional without being sappy and don’t get so caught up in one cliché after another that they become rote and dull. The album is packed with fun, high-energy songs that show enough variety to catch a listener’s interest and, more importantly, keep it.Not a band to waste a minute, “Supercharger” is exactly that. The song is high energy and has a good rock sound to get things going. The opening guitar work sets the tone for the rest of the song and vocalist Brent Loveday’s gravelly voice fits the overall sound perfectly. “Firecracker” displays some more strong instrumental abilities with fast guitar melodies and strong, blindingly quick drumming by Andrew Erich.“All Show, No Go” initially sounds like it’s a continuation of “Firecracker” but after one gets through the very brief intro, the song shifts into a clearly different sound. While the band maintains their overall approach, this is one of the first songs that some of the aforementioned country sound comes creeping in and the track may remind some of the country cover album by Me First And The Gimme Gimmes. Things shift again ever so slightly with a more sentimental song, “True Love.” Should one think that the title means this is just another sappy love song, lines like “Well, I’ll keep on buying you roses, and opening doors for you, even though you’re not around to accept them or to walk through,” sung in Loveday’s signature gritty voice make it a clear step from the typical.“Can’t Win For Losin’” maintains that country sound first displayed in “All Show, No Go” and takes it even further with tight harmonies on the chorus, some country-inspired guitar riffs and even some of the same topics as often found in such songs. However, where this song may pull in those that typically don’t like country or country-influenced music is because it still manages to maintain enough of the punk rock approach to keep a variety of people happy. The pace is still incredibly fast, the lyrics are occasionally raunchy and the drumming is definitely a step away from radio-friendly country.Tears Before Breakfast may show strong connections to previous punk bands, but in a time where music is increasingly becoming something punched out by a machine on an assembly line, it’s refreshing to hear something different. Reno Divorce has a fun sound with enough edge to keep it interesting. This is definitely an album worth picking up and trying out. –EVELYN MISKAI edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)