Review Summary: New Rivals bring a good 15 minutes of pop punk fury on their debut EP. It treads familiar ground, but it's still good to show off to your friends.
Sample of review taken from the New Rivals myspace page:
"Screw all that wistful emo crap. The New Rivals are slinging pure aggressive, hard-rocking punk, and hurling beers at the tears of anyone who’s not along for the fast-paced ride."
Needless to say, the New Rivals have already sparked fanboyism. This Long Island quintet's debut EP,
Fire For Effect, was "released" in early 2006 (they give it away for free at shows), and thanks to tours with The Forecast and I Am The Avalanche, they're beginning to make a name for themselves, particularly in the Northeast. While treading familiar ground in pop punk and bringing nothing new to the table, The New Rivals establish themselves as a force here, bringing a little bit of flash and a lot more grit to a genre that could use more of both. The production is surprisingly slick, as every track sounds professionally mixed well, which is not always the case for contemporaries of The New Rivals.
Fire For Effect isn't anything spectacular, but it makes for good playlistism, and it helps you brag to your friends that you're tr00 punk, listening to bands no one's heard of.
The EP kicks off with "Hell Is For Heroes", and it's undoubtedly the track with the most value. Starting off with furious snare and bass drum kicks, "Hell Is For Heroes" is the best representation of what the New Rivals aim to be. It's fast, catchy, and beats most of the pop punk played on radio today. The jagged stuttering guitar of the verses underlines shouted incomprehensible verses from unicorn-haired frontman Toby Bevis, continuing at a fast pace until the powerpop chorus, where the vocals switch from angry thoughts scribbled out on paper to a held out anthemic cry. The lyrics may not be very sensible (
"And it's alright, see it from a distance and I'm jailed high, I'm breathing with resistance"), but they're sung very well and sound like they mean something. The song also highlights something the EP is particularly strong in, the musicianship. The drums are always in time, and in "Hell Is For Heroes", the effects used on the cymbal are innovative, although a little invasive. The guitar slides with emotion and the bass, though not particularly highlighted in this track, is consistently strong in the EP.
Unfortunately, not all of the EP follows the vein of "Hell Is For Heroes". The following two tracks, "Mudslinging" and "Hold My Head", are standard pop punk tracks. Nothing really sets them apart except for Bevis's lung straining vocals, though the melodies on these two tracks feel uninspired and recycled. "Mudslinging" does contain a Sex Pistols-esque breakdown, except the bass is played well in "Mudslinging". However, the screams thrown into the breakdown and the end of the chorus make the song feel overdone, as though it'd trying too hard to be hardcore. "Hold My Head" is the complete opposite, trying too hard to be Blink 182, with an over-friendly guitar riff leading into a more midtempo song with a chorus that's more banally annoying than anything. It's a shame that the promise showed in the first track can't be met in the following tracks. Finale "Heels to the Ceiling" is a better effort than the previous two, showing a change of pace if anything. It's melodically surprising, though Bevis's vocals get more noticeably nasal despite being in his lower register. It's a good closer, bookending the EP with the best songs.
So with 2 good songs, 2 average,
Fire For Effect is over. It sticks around for a quick 16 minutes tops, at first hitting you with a flash of brilliance before fading back into the cliche and familiar. It's definitely worth your money if you find it on Itunes, where it's worth a cheap 4 dollars. It's an EP that shows promise from a little band trying to make it big, and with a full length album due later this year, it's possible that The New Rivals might actually become a name in music if they continue what they do best and drop trying to be someone else.
Recommended Tracks
Hell Is for Heroes
Myspace.com/thenewrivals
