Red Riders

Another consecutive day featuring two Australian bands in a row. I’m not sure why it is so sudden, but 2006 has really been a great year for rock acts from Australia. Julian Nation, Yunyu, The Cat Empire, Youth Group, Panda Band and The Silents are just a few of the Australian names that have been featured here this year, so it’s nice to see that bands outside of the USA and UK are beginning to get some universal recognition. You can simply search for ‘Australia’ to hear some audio from down under. The latest name is from Sydney, a foursome who call themselves Red Riders. Like many contemporary artists that thrive on the excitement of live showmanship and raw energy, their main influences includes those of post-punk marvels Joy Division and Gang Of Four, though the band personally describes their sound as more guitar-driven in the form of The Pixies’ Surfer Rosa or The Replacement’s Let It Be. On the succession of a couple EPs, Replica Replica is now available as their first full-length offering. All ten tracks have an upbeat tendency, with singer/guitarist Alexander M Grigg having breezy and easy-going vocals that make the raspy individuals envious. Considering they describe their own music as guitar-driven, lead guitarist Adrian Deutsch fits the bill well. With his ecletic mixture of Smiths-era jangle pop and post-punk, each song on Replica Replica breeds its own way of life with Deutsch and a clean rhythm section paving the road for a successful album.

‘Crawl Back Baby’ is one of my favorites off of their debut, with a laid-back chorus that sounds customary of Blur in their days of the pyschedelic 13. ‘C’mon’ opens up the album nicely, defining much of what the Red Riders are about, being enjoyable songs that will catch your ear upon first listen. Grigg’s details the song in the form of loneliness and social separation, describing, “Cos now, you sit in your room all alone, this place is a tomb and this is your tome,” almost literary in, “just a volume in row titled “Life And Your Trials“”. ‘My Love Is Stronger Than Your Love’ plays with the idea of rhythmic grunge, with vocal and lyrical arrogance resulting in a catchy but inseparable chorus with a simplistic lyrical sense, which almost serves as a relief considering the fact that several bands of a similar nature often try a bit too hard to sound poetic. Red Riders focus on the music, with most of it being very acceptable. Replica Replica is a very nice offering from another band hailing from Australia with a series of potential.

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Red Riders – Crawl Back Baby

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Red Riders – C’mon

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Red Riders – My Love Is Stronger Than Your Love

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