Rehab's An Acquired Taste By Dave on Nov 03, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

Rehab isn't emo. It isn't hard rock. Rehab is more like a rap-rock outfit with both straight rap beats and also mellow pieces. All are doused with a nihlist point of view, combined with talking from living a hard, poor life smokin' Marlboro Reds and drinking down 40s. Imagine depressing music that discusses hardcore addictions from real-life experience and the depressing hard-knock life - that is Rehab. A lot of songs involve drinking/alcoholism from a negative tone (I guess the band members went through Rehab in real life and formed a band is the story??).

Somebody I know loaned me this CD because I liked a song or two on it and I've been listening to it the past while. In short, Rehab is an acquired taste.

Southern Discomfort starts off strong -- I really liked Hey Fred, Stormchaser and Crazy People -- the first three real tracks on this CD (the first track is an spoken-word intro piece). Those are pretty good. But then the music doesn't quite have the same punch and sound more like filler.

The other highlight later on in the CD is Miss Jones, a song about being interested in an underage 13-year-old girl -- jailbait -- with a sarcastic lively tone to the song. Lyrics on that one were "black humor" funny if not disturbing.

"I know she's too young for me , oh she asked me to the fair / I wish she'd ignore me , but it's too hard not to care / My friends all say she's skanky, but I dig her armpit hair" -- yeah, disturbing. "Innocence and beauty, such a deadly combination..." the singer goes on.

In short, this CD is okay to listen to if you're sitting around lounging with close company, but this is not a CD to:

- let your kids hear

- blast out of your car

- let your coworkers hear (they'll think you're messed up in the head)

Overall rating so-so. I wouldn't buy this CD new, but I might pick up it up used or buy a couple tracks.