Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

RVIVR - LP

RVIVR is ex-Latterman, along with bands like Shorebirds, Bridge & Tunnel, Iron Chic, and I believe a few others. The splintering of Latterman as resulted in a number of great bands, perhaps rivaling Slapstick for the strongest “family tree” following their dissolution. I find RVIVR to be closest in sound to their parent band, which is pretty great, because Latterman was awesome. All of their songs sounded like the aural equivalent of high fiving your best friend.

One cool thing to note about this album: it’s free. You can go hit their label’s site- Rumbletowne Rec0rds- and stream or download yourself a copy of the album, no charge. I love when labels do that, and I’ll definitely be buying a physical copy of this record. So you have no excuse for not checking it out.

The first thing you’ll notice here, if you’re unfamiliar with RVIVR, is the presence of two vocalists, male and female. I love the back and forth they do, as well as the great harmonizing and duet-style singing found throughout this album. I’m a sucker for that in general (Oh! Calcutta by the Lawrence Arms, everything the Menzingers do, etc.), but here I think it works particularly well.

Aside from the vocals, the music is similar to what Latterman were up to for their all-too brief existence; uptempo, poppy punk rock. Some of the lyrics feel frustrated; like the lines in the chorus to “Cut the Cord” where they sing “Everybody’s talking shit/you get used to it” and the repeated citing of the difference between “being real [and] being mean.” The songs all lead to big, shout-along choruses, almost effortlessly.

The album is really great, if you couldn’t tell. This was my first experience with RVIVR, and it’s definitely a strong sell on the band. And since it’s available for free, what excuse do you have? Go check it out!

Tags: rvivr