Toronto – Brit bands are like poutine to me. I like them. They are everywhere, and even though they all are theoretically the same – fries, cheese, gravy – every restaurant has a different take on the Poutine. Some variations I like (like the ones with Sweet Potato substiute, or with bacon added..), some I do not (like the ones without cheese curds or really crappy gravy like the pub The Dog’s Bollocks). What’s my point? I like poutine, and would really like one now. Analogy wise – it’s easy to lump a Brit band like ‘The Rifles’ with all the other Brit bands that have arrived. This makes them easy to dismiss, and if you do that, you are missing out on a pretty good album. For the non Canadians, here is a picture of Poutine.
I have concluded there is no picture of poutine out there that looks particularly appetizing, but trust me, it is damn good. Here is poutine with meat on it, from a poutine store I’ve been meaning to visit.
The Rifles are an English band – we have established that much. They are from the racially named town of Ching-ford. They have your standard guitar/rhythm guitar/bass/drum setup. Their debut effort “No Love Lost” was an album I didn’t pay attention to too much, although I do recall liking the song “She Got Standards”. This is also a brit pop/indie nite in Toronto, hosted by what seems to be one of only 4 people who do brit/indie dance nites in Toronto.
Lets talk about their sophomore effort now. So far in this review, I have professed my love for Poutine, and paraphrase a bunch of stuff I looked up on Wikipedia. Awesome. January 26 sees the release of the Rifles’ sophomore effort – The Great Escape. Apparently, the band couldn’t come up with a name for their new album, so they put all of Blur’s album titles in to a nice shiny proper top hat, and drew one out. Hence, The Great Escape.
It is quite appropriate to name their album after a Britpop album, because this Rifles album reminds me of a good Britpop album. Starting with the title track “Science is Violence” all the way to closer “For The Meantime”, this album is pure guitar pop bliss. The melodies are solid, the choruses are catchy and there are nice subtle touches sprinkled here and there – strings, harmonicas, and horns among others.
Bottom line – this is a very good album – 4.41/5
Note to the band – next time, don’t name your album after another popular bands album, and don’t copy the artwork from a band you are probably compared to (even though you sound nothing like them)
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