Another week, another bunch of young lads with guitars yelling about good times. This week it’s The Ripps yelping about getting arrest and drinking lots. I think I’m getting too old for this kind of record. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that we’ve heard it all before. Their influences are as obvious as a smack in the face; The Jam, Sex Pistols, The Kinks and The Buzzcocks. It’s apparent that they’re having a good time though, the tracks all thrash along quickly, anything longer than 3 minutes is a rarity. Perhaps that helps a little, because otherwise they’d outstay their welcome very quickly.

They don’t have the ideas or the execution of, say, The Horrors who do this kind of thing with a touch more aplomp. These boys from Landan all sound as if they’re just out for a good time. They’re just singing about getting pissed down the pub and then getting arrested. If they’d listened to their influences a bit more they’d realise there was a bit more to those songs than met the eye. There’s none of that cleverness here, there’s nothing hidden, there’s no two meanings. This just means that repeated listens just brings up these glaring deficiences. The only thing that really does redeem these guys is their ear for a tune. The songs aren’t unlistenable and if they came on in a club you’d probably dance around like a loon and the cheeky riffs do work their way into your head but after a while they become a little annoying. Oh well. At least they’re better than The Ordinary Boys. And Towers of London.

Links:
The Ripps [official site] [myspace]