East
Magazine
Ripchord
at Bar Blue
Posted:
01/11/2005 00:24:12
Author: Peter Smith
Date of event: 27/10/2005
Location: Bar Blue
One half of RipChord arrived at Bar Blue, acoustic guitars in hand, and delivered a tight and extensive display of their songs in a set that ran way past the two hour mark on Thursday night.
The pair, Ross Towner, vocals and rhythm guitar, and Dave Page, lead guitar and backing vocals, have been playing together for five years and it showed. 'Since Dave came along we’ve written about 40 songs worth playing. I have more from before but, no-one’s ever going to hear those!' said Ross.
It’s not surprising that Dave made a musical impression on Ross, because frankly he left an impression on everyone in Bar Blue. His guitar work was quick and precise and was as sharp on the last note as he was on the first, which in a set that lasted so long was impressive. Often sounding more like he was playing classical rather than rock guitar, the evening was a great display of his talent.
It was also a set that showed off the range of Ross Towner’s voice. 'I never claimed I was original', he sings, and clearly he’s influenced by Muse, his Matt Bellamy vocals soaring up to notes no one thought he’d reach and then tumbling back down to a more masculine pitch, even resembling his childhood favourite Kurt Cobain at times.
Turin Brakes is an obvious comparison and as the night wore on it was hard to believe that Ross 'hasn’t heard much of their stuff at all'.
The set was a stark contrast from the louder, more distorted sound RipChord normally provide at their gigs, yet acoustic versions of the usually louder and more aggressive ‘The Quibble’ and ‘Be Safe’ shone through.
The gig showed that when the distortion and pounding drums are taken away this band still have more than enough about them to provide a good night’s entertainment for their audience.
“I’m
going to pretend for a moment that Muse never happened. Stay with me…
Now, first impressions are of a tight, slightly80’s, self-assured rock
band with a versatile lead singer and occasional leanings towards bonkers N*w
R*m*nt*cs, Japan in the melody department. (This is a good thing, incase you
were wondering.) These chaps definitely have their own “sound”,
and some really lovely tension and release points. The lyrics are occasionally
witty and there is a welcome sprinkle of devil-may-care to the whole 11 track
album, If there is one criticism, it’s that their formula is followed
too closely and becomes abit much after a few songs. However the quality of
the choruses means they sort of get away with it, with The Quibble and Fleedwood
Mac-esque These Four Walls emerging as the rough diamonds. My brain is still
arguing with itself over why I should like something like Choose Your War, but
it is a strangely compelling piece of work…
Right, pretension over. Muse did happen, and I’m afraid that unless RipChord
vocalist, Ross, makes more of his own uniqueness, the resulting comparisons
may hinder their progress. The ship floats, now it’s time to break from
the fleet.”
New
Noise, Web Zine
Reviewer Matt Hill
Ripchord
– Choose Your War
"No one ever gave Matt Bellamy the sole rights to warbling falsetto rock, but
there's just something so unique about Muse's operatics that makes it a somewhat
perilous Bermuda triangle for foolhardy frontmen who attempt to follow. And
yet here we have Ripchord's Ross Towner, voice breaking all over the place,
and Bellamy's shadow is a large and unavoidable one. Towner even complements
his vocal similarites with an orchestral overture of a solo or two on 'Looking
Good' ('Feeling Good'?) and 'Break You', but despite the heavy-handed influence,
'Choose Your War' is an enjoyable listen against the odds. The production, performance
and song structures are incredibly assured, whether it's the 'Crack Hitler'-esque
spoken-word break of 'The Quibble' or Mediterranean harmonies of 'Hide The Knives',
and scratching the surface reveals a lot more on offer than deep-fried Muse
bars. But it's safe to say that, despite Ripchord's charm, Bellamy-haters won't
find anything here to rethink their prejudice."
BBC
Radio Berkshire – Live Gig Review
“Launching straight into their extremely tight staccato ska-punk onslaught,
the droopy-eyed frontman doesn’t hold back with his operatic wailing falsetto,
making me think the band sound like a cross between Muse and The Darkness.
They thrash out their melodic rock with boundless energy, the guitarist a wizard
with the fretboard while the frontman howls like a hyena and gives his vocal
chords a pounding with his immense voice. These guys are all superb musicians
in their own right, effortlessly moulding a block of noise into their streamlined
and thickly textured sound.”
Live
Review from
www.the-mag.me.uk
Web Zine
With their latest album "Choose Your War" newly released, Ripchord rocked their
way through forty minutes of incredibly tight material that features vocals
akin to Muse's Matt Bellamy, guitar riffs that are faster than NASA's star-dust
probe and bass a hundred times more solid than that very same item.
Despite their technical ability however, Ripchord have built their sound on
the simple concept of good songs that contain a memorable guitar part or vocal
that will tease you in to a small-scale addiction to their music.
Although they will never escape some fairly strong comparisons with certain
other bands, Ripchord have enough of a twist in their sound to make them stand
out from the crowd... by about a mile!
Southscene.net
Web Zine
The debut album from Eastbourne based band RipChord is a magnificent example
of what these guys are capable of. Muselike in its approach, but far from mere
plagiarists, RipChord write majestic and beautifully crafted rock music.
There is an abundance of melody and good hooks. No one tracks stands out over the others. Not because there are no stand out tracks, but because the quality of material on here is just so good.
First single (and the proud accompaniment to an outstanding video which has to be seen to be believed!) ‘The Quibble’ is perhaps the best starting point. Short and to the point, RipChord prove that epic songs don’t have to be epic in length.
Vocalist Ross Turner has a great voice. Often surfing the stratosphere with some stunning falsetto work, he can also belt out some fine shouty bits. He is no one trick pony (Justin Hawkins should take note!). Ably backed up by a solid rhythm section, RipChord’s finest weapon in their armoury however is without doubt lead guitar player Dave Page. Stradling the fine line between jerk-off histrionics and tasteful, subtle chord work, he has used every trick in the book and yet still has a few chapters left up his sleeve.
Tasteful lyrics that are also the right side of cliché and not pompous and ambiguous for the sake of it are just right for singing along to. This band are big on choruses, hence they will appeal to the less-discerning music fans as well as those with more eclectic tastes.
What
more can I say? Check them out while you can!
Date: 09-09-2004
Mike Spall