With the vastness of the internet, the interactiveness of social media and other aspects of the digital age, misinformation has become a major issue over the past few years. Inaccurate articles and advertisements flood our search engines and our news feeds with its negative effects being far and wide. It causes mass division within society and for the individual it can really disrupt their mental health. Providence’s Detroit Rebellion examine this in their own way via their trademark fuzzed out blues sound that encompasses their third album “Fake News” that’s due out on October 14.

The new album is the first one in the band’s discography to be recorded with drummer Micaiah Castro who joined up with guitarist & vocalist Jeff Toste a couple years ago. An interesting fact about the making of “Fake News” is that it was funded in part by the selling of an effects pedal that used to be owned by Kurt Cobain from the Seattle alt-rock icons Nirvana.

“I was at what was one of Nirvana's first shows on the Nevermind tour,” Toste says. “Kurt had guitar issues and smashed his pedal on stage, then threw it into the audience. 29 years later in January of 2020 I sold the pedal via Julian's Auctions in California. [The album] thematically is overall an internal and external existential therapy session. Dealing with a history of mental health issues and how to feel sane in an insane world. I built a soundproof recording space in my basement during the pandemic, I referenced mostly 70's music and The White Stripes for the production style.”

“We're not The White Stripes or 70's music,” he adds. “Instead, we offer an eclectic variation of two-piece garage rock, with a ‘in the room with the band’ type of recording sound.”

That eclecticness is very apparent within the album while abiding by an old school blues approach rather than a typical rock aesthetic. It’s as if the beatnik motif is being incorporated into a modern sound that’s accented by jazzy beats and gritty riffs. Even though they’re local, there is a Detroit music influence that’s present, especially with the likes of John Lee Hooker and The MC5 being echoed in unique ways. Those two particular acts wrote songs about the actual “Detroit Rebellion” in 1967, which is where the band’s name comes from. If you don’t know much about it, listen to Hooker’s “The Motor City Is Burning” and do a Wikipedia search.

Within the 14-track album, “2020”, “Clap Of Thunder”, “Calculations”, “Lets Ride” and “Doom and Gloom” highlight “Fake News” while a distinct cohesiveness flows from beginning to end. This is due to the overall tone coming from the guitar and drums, which is deep, substantial and pretty dark at points. It echoes these crazy, dark times we’re in where music is a pretty good source of relief. To grab a copy of the new album, stop by Askew on 150 Chestnut Street in Providence on the night of its release and check out Detroit Rebellion’s celebration of it with fellow local bands Tall Teenagers and Animal Face. If by chance you can’t make the show, log on to their website at detroitrebellion.com to purchase the album and give it a stream.