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Red City Radio

The Dangers Of Standing Still

Written by: PP on 28/07/2011 06:21:13

Red City Radio from Oklahoma City are but one in a long line of bands today who owe their very existence to a couple of seminal Hot Water Music releases. Their debut album "The Dangers Of Standing Still" follows an identical musical path as many before them; Iron Chic, Frank And Earnest, Campaign, Daylight, Nothington are all among the countless bands drawing their so-called orgcore style from the circa-"Fuel For The Hate Game"-era Hot Water Music and the timeless Jawbreaker releases from before them. To state the obvious, they don't exactly sound original, but as we've seen time and time again, the majority of the bands playing this genre sound good regardless.

One of the reasons why is the passion found within these releases. It doesn't take much effort from the listener to sense and feel the sweaty bodies and beardy fellows rocking out some intimate basement to these songs, and after all, this is a genre characterized by its shouted singalongs stirred up by the melodic guitars that are purposefully rough-around-the-edges. The sound has character and is drenched in sweet guitar melody, so no wonder so many bands are perceived as solid within it.

Nonetheless, there are good bands and great bands playing this style, and Red City Radio definitely belong to the latter group. With songs like "Spinning In Circles Is A Gateway Drug" at the forefront, they take the qualities of the genre one step further: there's an outpour of heartfelt passion and superb melody, instantly memorable singalongs and explosions of emotionally charged vocals all around. The songs are played tightly, but not squeezed alive, leaving them with a strong spirit and a ton of energy that's just bursting to get out, something which you can hear in every line, every riff, every gravelly shout from their dynamic vocal duo (who, by the way, are pretty much equivalent to the Hot Water Music singers in their ability). The shouted singalongs of tracks like "Two For Flinching", "You're Poison, I'm Well" or "Never Bring A Cup Of Water To A Gunfight" are a grade or two above their contemporaries, and this is only their debut album.

If you've ever wondered why the fans of this style so often look down upon the so-called modern emo/post-hardcore and ridicule its emotion for being fake, it's because bands like Red City Radio truly live and breathe emotional music every step of the way. "The Dangers Of Standing Still" is one brilliant, though not necessarily original, example in emotive punk rock, the way this genre is meant to be played.

Download: Two For Flinching, Spinning In Circles Is A Gateway Drug,
For the fans of: Iron Chic, Frank And Earnest, Nothington, Hot Water Music, Campaign, Daylight,
Listen: Myspace

Release date 22.02.2011
Paper + Plastick