Looking to infiltrate the ever-expanding pop-punk scene before it takes over the world are New Zealanders, Rival State. However, the 5-piece are not exactly stealth and with new EP Gutter Mouth ready to drop, it’s fair to say that people will take notice.
Like finding a deadly spider and its nest among your Tesco value bananas the title track hatches with a disgusting riff that errs on the side of nauseating. But like a crack addict, you don’t want it to stop, you need the hit to the lug holes.
Welcome to grunge. Correction, modern grunge with a helping of infectious chorus’. We weren’t ready for it either.
Where the opener dug deep into the archives of Alice In Chains and came out with something fresh and juicy, ‘Keepsake,’ sounds like Feeder on a diet of protein. The versus may not carry a lot in the way of substance, but the hooks are heavy enough to cave craniums.
Obviously Rival State did not get the memo that it wasn’t cool to be different. Lets not go crazy though, they are not going to blow up like Nirvana, nor will they get the same adulation that Pearl Jam have had, but with tracks like ‘Rat Race’ smashing out Queens Of The Stone Age psychedelics at a million miles an hour making Mad Max look like The Notebook, you can only assume that they are in it for the long run.
Like sucking on an ice pole on a sweltering day to cool you down, Gutter Mouth is fresh and offers a bit of zing to the kiwis take on grunge. But just like the tasty treat, it is over way too quickly.
