City Riots - Matchsticks EP (02/10/2011)
There seems to be a new pop-rock/indie band popping up every second day. Adelaide band City Riots poses to be no exception to that trend – at first. Releasing their debut EP Socialize in 2008, their sound landed on Triple J airwaves and took them to Chicago, USA. An impressive achievement in this competitive business. Working with producer Bjorn Thorsrud (think The Smashing Pumpkins and The Dandy Warholes), they soon came up with twenty killer tracks for their first album. But you won’t hear them on their newest EP, Matchsticks, out 7th October.
Long story short, the boys revisited their album after a hectic year of touring here and abroad to have it altered and re-mastered by Melbourne producer Paul ‘Woody’ Annison (Children Collide, Hunting Grounds). But the time still wasn’t right. After being out of the limelight for the while, City Riots left the album on the backburner and released Matchsticks to rekindle the fire.
So here we are.
Their music reminds me slightly of The Cure mixed with AFI’s softer songs mixed with that distinct Aussie pop-rock sound. It’s hard to put your finger on it. Track number two, Nerve, is definitely a must-listen. Tricky guitar rhythms and Ricky Kradolfer’s slightly sweetly accented vocals fills the song with potential. To top it all off, the lyrics contrast the complex array of sound paradoxically, tying the piece up into a work of art. They are simple, relatable, and (most importantly) catchy as hell (“She’s got some nerve to come to my party, who’s that guy she’s holding hands with outside in the dark?”).
In five tracks and less than twenty minutes, City Riots has been able to achieved a noteworthy feat not regularly seen in today’s Aussie music industry: the quintet display the wide breadth and depth of their style in minimum space. At the risk of trying to do too many things at once, no two songs are alike yet none of the songs are polar opposites.
You’ve got to hand it to the boys: they’ve done a stellar job. They’ve found their angle, sound (or whatever you want to call it), and they present it to their audience with ease and confidence. But the real test is yet to come: how will they break into the mainstream without losing this unique sound? Assuming that’s their goal, that is. City Riots have got something – it’s hard to pin-point – but it has the ability to blast them into the popularity stratosphere. It’s not something that comes around often. Use it well, and the boys from Adelaide will become something awesome.
Give the EP a listen when it comes out in a few days; you won’t be disappointed. You’ll find yourself hooked and eagerly awaiting the release of their debut album (hopefully some time next year). I can’t wait to hear these guys again.
Olivia Fusca
Long story short, the boys revisited their album after a hectic year of touring here and abroad to have it altered and re-mastered by Melbourne producer Paul ‘Woody’ Annison (Children Collide, Hunting Grounds). But the time still wasn’t right. After being out of the limelight for the while, City Riots left the album on the backburner and released Matchsticks to rekindle the fire.
So here we are.
Their music reminds me slightly of The Cure mixed with AFI’s softer songs mixed with that distinct Aussie pop-rock sound. It’s hard to put your finger on it. Track number two, Nerve, is definitely a must-listen. Tricky guitar rhythms and Ricky Kradolfer’s slightly sweetly accented vocals fills the song with potential. To top it all off, the lyrics contrast the complex array of sound paradoxically, tying the piece up into a work of art. They are simple, relatable, and (most importantly) catchy as hell (“She’s got some nerve to come to my party, who’s that guy she’s holding hands with outside in the dark?”).
In five tracks and less than twenty minutes, City Riots has been able to achieved a noteworthy feat not regularly seen in today’s Aussie music industry: the quintet display the wide breadth and depth of their style in minimum space. At the risk of trying to do too many things at once, no two songs are alike yet none of the songs are polar opposites.
You’ve got to hand it to the boys: they’ve done a stellar job. They’ve found their angle, sound (or whatever you want to call it), and they present it to their audience with ease and confidence. But the real test is yet to come: how will they break into the mainstream without losing this unique sound? Assuming that’s their goal, that is. City Riots have got something – it’s hard to pin-point – but it has the ability to blast them into the popularity stratosphere. It’s not something that comes around often. Use it well, and the boys from Adelaide will become something awesome.
Give the EP a listen when it comes out in a few days; you won’t be disappointed. You’ll find yourself hooked and eagerly awaiting the release of their debut album (hopefully some time next year). I can’t wait to hear these guys again.
Olivia Fusca