In a scene awash with suicidal swamp blues, EMO shoe gazing and guitar shredding angst, The Ripz have arrived like a blast of tropical sunshine.
Surf music?! Whaaa?!!! Yep, guitar twangin' tunes, hip shakin' beats and (dare I say it?) FUN! The Ripz draw on their 1960s heroes - Dick Dale, The Ventures, The Shadows - to evoke a classic summer soundtrack. You can almost taste the salt and feel the cool spray of the tubes on your face.
But The Ripz ain't no nostalgia trip. They've fused the hippest beach tunes with beats straight outta London punk, New York's underground scene and pure Detroit rawk 'n' roll. Don't expect two-dimensional juke box jive - these guys demand ATTENTION - and they get it, too, packing out dance floors and driving the energy-o-meter into the red.
Is it cool to smile and dance at a rock gig?
The Ripz say YEAH, GO WILD!
The Ripz - Diamond Head (Ventures) @ The Clarence .01.08.08