The Ripps: Long Live The Ripps
Did Brit Pop and the Nineties ever die? The Ripps hope not…
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Monday, 19, Mar 2007 05:02
Catskills Records, out March 19th .
In a nutshell…
British, bombastic, fun, vibrant.
What's it all about?
Throwing out staccato power chords and manic lyrics, The Ripps' first album has stirred up a fanbase online, with over 14,000 MySpace "friends" ready to spread the word.
They've been compared to Supergrass by some, but there are even more British classic bands in their make-up, such the ska influences of Madness and The Specials or the lyrical playfulness of Blur, that makes any Englishman feel right at home.
Who's it by?
The Ripps have been ripping it up in their hometown of Coventry for a while, but this new album is the first time they have laid out their hand for all to see.
The band is formed by brothers Patch and Raul Lagunas on vocals, guitar and bass, while banging the drums is their close friend Rachel Butt.
They got together in 2003 and claim a shared love of legends like The Clash, Pixies, The Buzzcocks and Blur, as well as perhaps more unlikely influences such as B-52's and The Shangri-la's.
But a major feature both in their interviews and music seems to be Coventry itself, which they alternately seem to love dearly or hate bitterly depending on which song you listen to.
An interesting piece of The Ripps trivia is that Patch and Raul's parents were political activists in General Pinochet's fascist Chile, but have been forced to live in exile in the UK since the 70s – perhaps that where all the band's fervent energy comes from?
As an example…
"I won't feel safe unless you're here tonight." – in one of The Ripps' tender moments in Nightmares.
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
The Ripps are just starting out, so they'll be lucky if they're even invited.
What the others say
"Snotty, fast and sharp." NME
"Guaranteed to lift the sides of your mouth into a firm grin." Rocksound.
"The best fun you can have without getting arrested." Daily Mirror.
So is it any good?
Unfortunately for The Ripps, had they released this in the mid-nineties it would be a certainty for the top ten.
But there's more than just Britpop nostalgia here – most importantly, The Ripps know how to make punk-pop feel good.
Unreservedly brash vocals and guitars mix together into an album of punkish indie songs that are full of a driving, pounding joy that doesn't care much about subtlety, it just wants you to career about like a loon.
Partial to a spot of careering as InTheNews can be from time to time, The Ripps score highly for sheer exuberance. To some extent it doesn't matter that there's not a lot new here, as The Ripps do it all well – and Coventry-accented wailing in Spanish is a hit in my book any day.
Lyrically there's the typical tracks extolling the heavy-drinking, hangovers and hedonism of the band, but with Hypocrites, The Ripps show a more incisive side to their writing with an astute attack on the double standards of the tabloids towards celebrities.
In fact Hypocrites is arguably the high point of the album, although recent single Loco is one to rapidly make its way further up the iTunes playlist and Vandals or Cov Song are both rapid blitzes of the dark side of life in the Midlands.
But overall it's a stirring and defiantly English effort from the three-piece – it's just a bit out of its time.
8/10
Nicholas Claxton