– Alternative Press
Release Date: 22 February 2011
Genre: Punk / Alternative Rock / Hardcore
Publisher: (C) 2011 Paper + Plastick
Label: Paper + Plastick
Time: 38m 40s
Review Date: 31-October-2011
Format: AAC (iTunes)
JivePK: Not currently a Jivewired Member
Find it at:
iTunes | Amazon | Paper + Plastick
Track Listing:
01. An Introduction Of Sorts 1:22
02. The Benefits Of Motion 2:20
03. Two For Flinching 3:03
04. Spinning In Circles Is A Gateway Drug 3:59
05. Too Much Whiskey, Not Enough Blankets 2:43
06. 50th and Western 3:39
07. I'm Well, You're Poison 2:57
08. Captioned For The Hearing Impaired 2:49
09. This Day's Seen Better Bars 3:12
10. Drinking Yourself Into The Future 2:42
11. Talk Me To Sleep 3:00
12. Nathaniel Martinez 3:54
13. Never Bring A Cup Of Water To A Gunfight 2:50
** Note: iTunes has song #7 listed as "You're Poison, I'm Well" but everything I have read indicates the contrary, and that the song's actual title is "I'm Well, You're Poison" **
Review:
Give me a second, let me catch my breath.
OK, thanks.
"The Dangers Of Standing Still" is the aptly-titled, full-length debut from Oklahoma City quartet Red City Radio which has earned them comparisons to the likes of the The Gaslight Anthem, Polar Bear Club and Hot Water Music. It's a hard-rocking and emotive punk/anthemic hardcore hybrid that brings to mind a descriptive or four: Lupine fury. Ravenous ferocity. Muscular relentlessness. Controlled chaos. "The Dangers Of Standing Still" is an unwavering call to arms that jerks the wheel into oncoming traffic and dares you to duck out. Good luck with that.
Great expression is the result of expert production throughout, and the band's big sound is as unwavering as it is polished. Red City Radio makes a statement on this album; it's ambitious and it's calculated, combining a resolute and unified hardcore sound with melodic intonation that is quick, smart and consistent. It's steeped in retro signifiers, a tribute to the kind of punk we rarely see these days: Social Distortion, Alkaline Trio and The Replacements initially come to mind. Despite nostalgic comparisons, Red City Radio still feels fresh and intuitive. They wear their identities and emotions on their sleeves and it shows. Red City Radio's sound belongs as much to themselves as any of the aforementioned legends.
There is not a single bad song on this album, not one song that won't make you want to flex in mutual angst and fury or get up and dance yourself silly. That being said, other than a five-second catch-your-breath pause on "This Day Has Seen Better Bars" or the bridge on "Nathaniel Martinez" there are no breaks in sound. This is a record of blistering, wall-to-wall hardcore that refuses to let up and demands you to keep up. The best of the album lies in the songs “Spinning In Circles Is A Gateway Drug”, "Drinking Ourselves Into The Future” and “This Day Has Seen Better Bars”. "Nathaniel Martinez" is equal to the task as well. The coup de grâce however is "Two For Flinching". It's chorus of “Together we can burn this fucking city to the ground” is hypnotically addictive.
There is simply no quit in this album. Red City Radio has a thoroughly live sound, and declares its street-smart presence by combining a kiss-my-ass attitude with angular ruffs and emotional grit in much the same way that bands like The Strokes and Social Distortion and performers like Elvis Costello did when they debuted. What the band gives you throughout this album is scorching and thunderous blast pack percussion that underpins frenetic guitars and bombastic vocals, along with the impression that Red City Radio could match Hot Water Music blow for blow on the emotive/power-grab heavyweight title fight. What separates Red City Radio, however, is an ear for melody. Whether that's a derivative of or despite it's pomp and fury is no matter. You'll keep the disc on repeat.
Band Members:
- Paul Pendley
- Garrett Dale
- Jonathan Knight
- Dallas Tidwell
About Red City Radio:
In late 2005 I had given up on music. I was feeling uninspired and jaded celebrating my new found self pity with healthy doses of cynicism and bourbon. I even started to contemplate the unimaginable possibility of selling all of my musical gear in addition to my beloved vinyl collection. For no other reason than I thought I didn’t need it anymore. Then Dallas and I started Red City Radio.
This band is a result of four individuals coming together for their collective good. We’ve all fronted our own bands. We’ve all been stage center with guitar in hand belting out the songs we wrote at the show we booked, hoping to sell some shirts we designed. The difference now is that we as a collective are greater than the sum of our parts. We are all in, all of the time. No chief songwriter. No ego trips. No unilateral decisions. We are a unit, a machine, a brotherhood. And at the end of the day is there anyone else you would want to spend 50,000 miles on the road with? If you’re reading this you now know where we are coming from. And if you listen to our music you’ll know who we are. Cheers.
-Paul Pendley
In the van somewhere in rural Georgia
On tour
June 14th, 2011
Recorded with Stephen Egerton (of Descendents and All) in the summer of 2010 at his Armstrong Recordings studio in Tulsa, OK, The Dangers Of Standing Still features Red City Radio’s gruff, hook-laden blend of punk rock.
“On the new album, we don't think there will be a huge sonic departure from our EP [We Are The Sons of Woody Guthrie], though it will sound a little more polished,” comments guitarist/vocalist Paul Pendley. “For the most part, the songs follow a similar template as our EP - big choruses, big hooks, but with some new surprises.”
From the ringing of the first guitar chords of album opener “An Introduction Of Sorts” to the climactic ending of closer “Nathaniel Martinez,” it is impossible to resist the band’s ability to write infectious, shout-along songs, transcended only by the quartet’s live show. Alternative Press recently donned the album with a 4/5 star review and commented "[The Dangers Of Standing Still is] an incredibly impressive and ambitious debut album. Dominated by raucous, gruff-voiced sing-alongs that are as catchy as they are brash and as anthemic as they are rebellious, this album is the product of four songwriters sharing an undeterred sense of purpose and being.”
Driving down a highway listening to either metal, hip hop, or country. Getting to the venue. Eating. Drinking. Playing. More Drinking. Heading to our home for the night. Drinking some more. Sleeping. Starting all over again. We're pretty simple folk.
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