Riverboat Gamblers - To The Confusion of Our Enemies

After seeing the Gamblers last night I realized that I never reviewed my favorite (so far) record of theirs, the extremely catchy, though awkwardly titled, To The Confusion of Our Enemies. This was the album they were promoting when we first saw them and were knocked out my their mix of terrific songs and an amazing stage show.

They blast out immediately with "True Crime", showing all of their strengths - clever and different lyrics, great singing, incredibly tight rhythm section, powerful guitars, harmonies, call'n'answer vocals and cool starts and stops. The impossibly memorable and melodic "Don't Bury Me...I'm Still Not Dead" still gets everyone in the crowd singing along - and shouting along with the "right! right!" at the end - and includes the line that they made the album title. "Biz Loves Sluts" contains plenty of chants, and they get even more frantic on "The Song We Used To Call 'Wasting Time"", where they seem to be trying to see just how fast they can go while maintaining a melody. Yet another live favorite is "On Again Off Again" and its headbanging beat, huge guitars (that still manage to convey tunefulness) and back and forth "on again, off again" choruses. A trick that they use a few times - but not so often that it becomes a cliche - is a guitar call'n'answer, that is simple but extremely effective.

Obviously, these cats are intelligent and want their lyrics to rise above the average punk rock drek, such as "The Gamblers Try Their Hand at International Diplomacy"! Somehow they make these ungainly titles into superior songs. "Walk Around Me" is a little less wacky and is all the more powerful and then someone's drugs kicked in for the absolutely silly acapella "Unicorn Shave Your Horn" that thankfully only lasts a few seconds before moving into one of their best, "The Art of Getting F#@%ed" where they chant out their name - another audience fave. Organ is added to the mix in "Year of the Rooster", where they split up the vocals even more than usual to great effect, put in a couple of breakdowns and then even throw in a sax solo! Wow!

Somehow familiar, though original, "The Curse of the Ivory Coast" has some cool twists and turns in the chord structures and melodies, giving you the impression that maybe you've heard this before. The rapid-fire "Rent is Due" and "Uh Oh" come one right after the other, each with its own sweet bits and more organ work. "Black Nothing of a Cat" (no idea where these titles come from) has some unique guitar tones, giving this closer a feel unlike the rest in a way, but still fitting in and still rockin' out.

Without a doubt, one of the best punk rock bands performing today and this is record is the strongest in terms of sound and songs, so grab this one first, but support them in all their endeavors!