Riff Randells

Riff Randells (2002)

The Riff Randells sound like they are straight out of the lost files of LookOut! Records. They have that spunky, retro, Screeching Weasel meets the Ramones sound coated with girly vocals in the vein of The Donnas and The Eyeliners. However, while I find The Donnas to be tiresome more times than not and The Eyeliners way too poppy for my sanity, this Canadian band has just the right mix of caffine injected energy and infectious excitement to keep me interested without feeling annoyingly overstimulated.

Living up the their rebellious, but good-hearted, Rock N' Roll Highschool namesake, the Riff Randells invoke images of leather jackets, mop-haired heads and crazy teenage antics. But instead of penning songs for a famous band (as Riff Randel did in the movie when she passed her gems on to The Ramones), this trio dishes out their own dose of simple but catchy bubblegum pop-rock. The songs are straight-forward, to the point and indicative that girls don't just wait by the phone for the cute guy in homeroom to call anymore. While in no way vulgar, but far from innocent, the band takes on songs that land the girl in the role of being the aggressive pursuer.

"C'Mon" is the first track on the release and only lasts a mere one minute and twenty-five seconds, but is just the perfect song to get listening ears hooked. Keeping with the "girls in charge" theme, "Lethal Lipgloss" brings forth the society-friendly image of a girl getting dolled up in an excessive amount of lipgloss but takes an edgy turn when it's revealed that she doesn't care about what anyone else thinks of her. The remainder of the songs keep up the vibe and quickly wind up in 6 short tracks. While comparisons to The Donnas will probably be the most frequent,especially among younger generations, I prefer to group the talented Riff Randells with the bands who started it all; Holly and the Italians and Nikki and the Corvettes. Any band that uses the word "chillax" in their songs is cool in my book!