The Ripps
Vandals
The Ripps may sound a bit like The Clash meets The Buzzcocks, but don’t be fooled just yet into dismissing another punk throwback.
The thing is, while the b-side has the three-word repetitive chorus of the Johnny Rotten era of ‘repeat a word with increasing sarcastic delivery’, the main track, ‘Vandals’, is a bit more tricky.
It’s got some rock ‘n’ roll guitars and plenty of attitude, but there’s a certain indie-pop vibe shrouded in the apparently punk song and the tidy harmonies and hooky chorus are testament to a much less-pierced influence. In fact, the prison-chorus is a genius move that disguises a really anthemic melody with some downtrodden lyrics.
The Ripps are doing alright with the UK take on the Good Charlotte phenomenon. They may have a tooth or two missing and they might well sport long hair-cuts and sometimes they don leather jackets, but this band know more about pop than they’d like to admit. It works though!
Listen to The Ripps – ‘Vandals’.
Written by Fenton on
