THE RIPTIDES's MySpace Blog |

my music featured playlists top artists music videos karaoke shows forums

MySpace.com | rss | sign in

THE RIPTIDES

Last Updated: 12/14/2009

Send Message
Instant Message
Email to a Friend
Subscribe

Status: Single
City: Ottawa
State: Ontario
Country: CA
Signup Date: 5/20/2005

My Subscriptions

ish

Blog Archive

[Older Newer]

/ /

Monday, December 14, 2009

"Tales" Reviews & Interview
Current mood:

jolly
Category: Music

"Tales From Planet Earth" - Reviews & Interview

The Punk Site:

Forget what you thought you knew about The Riptides. If you previously thought of the Ottawa four-piece as a forgettable pop-punk outfit, then it’s time to give them another listen. In fact, their latest album, Tales From Planet Earth, could be thought of as somewhat of a relaunch for the ten-year-old group. What’s changed you ask? Well, for starters lead vocalist Andy Vandal has completely abandoned his gruff edge and now resembles some sort of Lillingtons-Methadones-Mark Hoppus hybrid. His enunciation is now slow and calculated, and his demeanor calm and reserved. While many of their contemporaries have been doing this for years, Vandal’s delivery actually eclipses the majority of The Riptides’ inspirations, and places them on par with touted genre staples like Teenage Bottlerocket and the aforementioned Lillingtons. Furthermore, a choral section provides unparalleled backing harmonies, bolstering their newfound melodic core. With backing vocals that could easily draw comparisons to godfathers of punk rock, Bad Religion, The Riptides move between varieties of more obscure influences. Most notably, songs like “She Gets Around” feature bright and sunny Beach Boys-inspired harmonies, and the surprisingly fun “I Can’t Have A Merry Christmas” draw upon 50’s doo-wop. Such touches really help distinguish Tales From Planet Earth from the legions of other pop-punk releases that have come to dominate 2009. Style aside, The Riptides also demonstrate lyrical adeptness. As the album name implies, these tracks are a combination of brief little stories and snippets covering a wide spectrum of material. Tales From Planet Earth has it all, from love stories to science fiction heroes. But generally they can be divided into two camps: cutesy love tales and extreme novelties. Now, I’m typically a skeptic of albums based largely around affection because most artists end up repeating the same shallow message from song to song. But here The Riptides stand out. Their tracks span a spectrum of lighthearted encounters with snarky lyrics and a fun intent. Tracks like “Hung Up” feature oogling punks with idolizing crushes as seen in passages like “see the girls with the high tops on, leather jacket with the little pink thong, she’s tearing up my heart like it was last years Valentine,” while others like “I Go Mental” comedically describe the agony of separation. The best example, “Two Minute Penalty” compares relationships to hockey, keeping these cutesy tracks fresh even towards the album’s end. But the real treat lies with the novelty tracks. Undoubtedly drawing inspiration from The Lillingtons’ classic TV based album, The Too Late Show, these novelty tracks fill the album with an extra layer of life. Specifically “Dial M For Murder” and “Omega Man” detail classic 50’s and 70’s suspense movies respectively, and “Stranger in the House” draws inspiration from early spy movies. Here, The Riptides blend their catchy hooks with odd source material with infectious results. The key word to remember with Tales From Planet Earth is ‘fun.’ In fact, I can’t think of another album this year as outright enjoyable and uplifting as Planet Earth. Sure, there probably isn’t too much here that you haven’t heard before, but with Planet Earth the band has crafted a shining example of why 90’s era Fat Wreck Chords pop-punk has yet to die. So to wrap up, Tales From Planet Earth isn’t just The Riptides’ definitive album, it’s also my candidate for 2009’s pop-punk album of the year.

http://thepunksite.com/reviews.php?page=album/o_z/riptides_talesfromplanetearth

Exclaim! Magazine:

If pop punk is gathering its third wind, Ottawa, ON's the Riptides just might finally find themselves in a position to benefit, thanks to latest full-length Tales From Planet Earth. With bands like Teenage Bottlerocket picking up speed and the Queers continually plugging their take on the Ramones/Screeching Weasel, this act's lilting, sugary melodies set to four chords and straight-ahead drumming are bound to grab some proponents. Still, despite their upbeat bounce and unforgettable melodies, the sequencing on Tales From Planet Earth sounds strange. Kicking off with the almost depressing "Hung Up" feels like a bring down before getting to the nitty-gritty of hooks such as "She Gets Around" and "Call Me" Few Riptides tunes are ever overtly happy though, thanks to vocalist Andy Vandal's Fat-Wreck-dude-on-valium delivery, which is priceless, and legendary in its own right. Coupled with the simplicity and harmony-heavy background music though, Tales From Planet Earth is another wonderful half-hour of bouncy, albeit downtrodden, punk from the capital city. (Asian Man)

http://exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid1=137&csid2=851&fid1=43028

Scene Magazine:

With about a dozen years under their belt, Ottawa’s Riptides’ latest Tales From The Planet Earth should betray the sound of cool careerists bashing out the tunes by the numbers. However this delightful disc boasts a dozen cuts as playful and spunky as if it was their debut. That noted, what the Riptides have on their side is an ability with a hook and the generous instinct to toss in several per tune. It also helps that they vary the pace a bit from cranium crashing double-time bash-ups to toss in what qualifies as a ballad for them, I Can’t Have a Merry Christmas which echoes some of Joey Ramone’s most sincere mid-tempo heartbreakers. The Riptides’ Tales From The Planet Earth are a dozen stories worth listening to.

http://klanaccurrently.blogspot.com/2009/12/riptides-tales-from-planet-earth.html

Punk Rock Review:

I’ll be the first to admit that I have loved just about everything that The Riptides have put out. So as a big Riptides fan, I was giddy about the release of “Tales from Planet Earth”, especially after hearing the leaked song “Hung Up”, which is an amazing song. It’s a smooth pop punk song with great hooks, melodies, and the whole 9 yards. Prior to receiving my copy I was reading some peoples thought on the album and some thought that the singer (Andy Vandal) sounded disinterested and lacking emotion. As soon I got my copy I threw it across the house like a Frisbee right onto the turntable. All of my anxiety about the album was soon displaced with excitement towards “Tales from Planet Earth”. Ha, those people who said the album lacked passion are bonkers. I will admit that the album is on the more mellow side of the Riptides pendulum, but lacking emotion it is not! On the contrary, I’d say this album is by far the most melodically & emotionally complete album they’ve done to date. Maybe it’s because The Riptides have shown so much range in the past with rough and tough power songs (“So Long And Thanks For The Beer”, “I Wanna Riot” & “Red Dawn”) to the Beach Boys/ Queers influenced surf style pop punk (“Heartbreaker”, “You’re A Twat” & “I Wanna Go Surfin”) that it has some people confused? “Tales from Planet Earth” is a great fucking album and probably the most complete The Riptides have done. They throw in a lot of Oh’s, Ah’s, OOO’s and Whoa oh’s in all the right places and jam packed with more hooks than your grandpa’s tackle box. I wouldn’t say this album is one that you would throw on to get your blood pumping, but it is definitely an album you could throw on for a nice make out session on the couch or just turn it up loud and sing along to it on a long drive. Best songs on “Tales from Planet Earth”; “Call Me”, “Hung Up”, “She Gets Around”, “Omega Man”, & “I Can’t Have a Merry Christmas”

http://punkrockreview.org/blog9/2009/12/08/the-riptides-%e2%80%93-%e2%80%9ctales-from-planet-earth%e2%80%9d-asian-man-records/

Alternative Press Magazine:

Tried and true, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's the Riptides have been cranking out melodic pop-punk since the late '90s. While Tales From Planet Earth doesn't sound all that different from anything else in their catalog, the album has an additional level of crunch to it with the addition of Screeching Weasel alumnus Dan Lumley on drums. Fans of first-generation Fat Wreck Chords punk rock like Lagwagon and No Use for a Name will be particularly thrilled with the horse-gallop riffs and tasty little guitar fills. Visualize a goofy looking punk rocker waggling his tongue at you while doing kick-splits about five feet off the drum riser and, yeah, you've got the picture. Add the fact that between a trio of standout songs on this album, two are about horror movies (Halloween and The Omega Man, respectively) and the other's about a punk chick who wears a pink thong, and we can all agree this one's a winner; even if everything about this album screams 1995. Production by Mass Giorgini, need we say more?

http://alternativepress.com/reviews/talesfromplanetearth.htm

Also, because we're big fans of bad reviews (as much as we're fans of good reviews), here's a link & excerpt for one......

Music For Small Masses:

"......it really came off as just sort of boring.......considerable for background music but nothing more......"....

http://reviewthisshit.blogspot.com/2009/10/riptides-tales-from-planet-earth.html....

Interview

Innocent Words / AMP Magazine:

http://www.innocentwords.com/tabId/807/itemId/782/Six-things-you-need-to-know-from-The-Riptides-And.aspx

Currently playing:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Release date: 2009-11-10