Thrash & Bang
So this band, RBNX, gets in touch with me and asks if I would like to review their release. I explain to them, I listen to everything we receive but only review what I really like, what really inspires me. Most of the stuff I get, I don’t review. And it’s not because it’s bad, it’s just that it doesn’t do it for me.
And if it doesn’t “do it for me”, believe me, my review wouldn’t do it for you!
Then I see the tag ska/punk along with this and I’m thinking, “That’s a genre I like as much as I like hippie jam bands, boy band pop music or Ethiopian hair metal ballads!” But then, I also think- Hey! I do like Jerry’s Got Jokes and Easy Killer, both ska/punk bands.
But just then a truckload of hazardous waste turns over in front of my house, falling on my cat and transforms him into some kind of mutant looking frog/hockey puck.
And then I give this record a spin:
“1,300 Miles (Of Anger, Betrayal And Resentment),” busts out of the starting gate with charging, revolving rhythms, fire breathing, emotional vocals along with guitars reaching for your throat. It revolves into a kick ass, straight rock’n’roll beat while I’m still savoring a touch of Minor Threat in this tune. The propulsive drums steers this song along as the vocalist and instruments all hold on for dear life. This song is one powerful, passionate punch of punk and it knocks me out!
“Brett Raddigan’s Program (Behind Door Number 3),” starts out with an energetic, ska/punk strut that soon changes into a hardcore mosh-pit sing along. These parts intersect and compliment each other much like a shot of Jameson followed by a beer. This is more like a ska/hardcore song than a ska/punk one and ends with a surprising, metal like coda.
“Mark Runion,” blasts off with a driving, punk rhythm whose vocals remind me of a favorite of mine, Richard Hell. The beat then switches to a crunching ska rhythm, “I don’t know what the fuck’s goin’ on with you?” The vocals declare before becoming nearly hysterical. I don”t know what the fuck’s goin’ on most of the time, but I do know that this is an expressive, unique and awesome song. My favorite on the album.
With a buzzing bass along with a mellow, reggae beat “90 Days (Can’t Stay Clean),” is about a male friend going to rehab, in which the singer is at first sympathetic in tone, but then turns completely the other way, in explicit terms, when it’s revealed the friend has committed physical abuse towards a female. The music switches back and forth between a slammin’ hardcore chorus and a laid back reggae verse. The contrast works perfectly and is a great song.
“Clarity (Through My Eyes),” begins with some energetic melodic/punk which pulls back slightly in the chorus into a reggae/ska beat before it once again goes colliding into the volatile verse. The guitar adds some nice dissonant edges, the vocals are emotional and strong, the music passionate and creative at the same time (which is sadly, a rarity.) But this song clearly delivers with passion, excitement and musical exploration.
RBNX are a band from Poughkeepsie, New York and besides residing in a town with an extremely silly name, I have no idea where it is.
They tag themselves with skate punk, ska-core, thrash which is fine and accurate but what’s most important to me is that they have a style that is distinctive. I think any band that makes me think of Richard Hell is not only great but also, distinctive. There’s lots of energy and fun in this recording and a lot of guts and passion coming from a band that is not afraid to veer off the beaten path.
Is this recording perfect? I would say promising more than perfect. But then perfection is such a dull affair created by the hearts of robots and whenever I hear that word associated with punk music it really means petrification to me. (Organic matter exposed to minerals over a long period turned into a stony substance.)
So I think this is a very good debut from I think, a new band. And even though I don’t know where the hell they live I do know when music inspires me, because I end up writing about it as you can well see, that’s what I’m doing now.
But shortly, I do have to take my new frog/hockey puck for a walk. Let me tell ya- he scares the pit bulls like hell.
