by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
San Francisco’s Rip Room make post-hardcore music with an air of art pop exuberance. The songs throughout their upcoming album, Alight and Resound, are tightly wound and serrated at the edges. While there’s nothing remotely “top 40” about their “pop” inclinations, there is an understated lightness included in mix, the kind you might associate with bands like Medications or Dismemberment Plan. With their album due out May 27th via Spartan Records, It’s in that similar glow that Rip Room trade between muscle and melody, dexterity and wonkiness.
Having already shared the album’s first three songs - “Complication,” “Loose Ends,” and “Worth Repeating” - the band keep the preview of the record coming in track order with their latest, “Dead When It Started.” The song bounces with a circular post-punk guitar groove reminiscent of the Devo classic “Girl U Want,” but as the rhythm digs in, the band swerves, and by the sort of anti-hook, there are fills and riffs sliding around, breaking the motorik boogie and tightening the tension.
Speaking about the song, Rip Room’s John Reed (guitar/vocals) shared:
"‘Dead When It Started’ is a good intro to Rip Room for the uninitiated: it's an indictment disguised as a dance song. If the height of human interaction is the sum of our institutions plus the current state of social media, then our ability to solve real problems quickly approaches zero. The system is rigged! And worse, our tools for communication are essentially games that demand our attention and little else (and if it's not clear, I count myself among the implicated here). Contrary to the lyrics, the tune is super fun! It's maybe the most accessible song on the record, which makes the disconnect from the lyrics a bit cheeky. I remember the main riff sort of materialized out of thin air, and aside from the proggy breaks, it's basic pop. That's Gracie [Malley] pounding on a car fender with a hammer before the outro, and there's a ton of the Bass Rhodes on this track which makes it extra beefy.”