Labels: Asian Man Records
Review by: Oli Saunders
You are most likely already familiar with the Riverdales and have an opinion on them, making this review redundant, but perhaps not. I only got into Screeching Weasel a few years back and the Riverdales even more recently. But both have become a mainstay on my playlists ever since. I’ve probably listened to Screeching Weasel this year more than any other band in fact. Some music is perfect for putting on in a variety of situations and I find this can be applied to the records of both these bands. Fun pop punk of a high quality that doesn’t take itself too seriously, that you can easily sing along to but in which the songs don’t get stuck in your head after you’ve turned the record off. Obviously the Ramones nailed this originally and the Riverdales make no secret in their influence. The result is a band that sounds like a cross between the Ramones and Screeching Weasel.
I must admit, I was a little dissapointed when I first heard this new album. I think I was expecting too much. For sure there are not that many absolutely classic tracks on it. But on the other hand there aren’t really any poor tracks either. And now I have given it a few listens I find it a very enjoyable experience throughout. You should know what to expect: very basic guitar riffs that really don’t vary a great deal, and ridiculous lyrics about topics such as dinosaurs and crawling eyes, amongst the odd song about love. But overall the song writing is spot on and it’s just the perfect sound track for driving to and from work, for example, even in winter. Overall the Phase Three reissue is my favourite Riverdales album, others will probably disagree that this is the best, but this new album is definitely worthy of a place in any pop punk fans collection too.
13th December 2009