Self-released, 1 November 2020
The Renfields do some great songs that’ll stick around for days and bring you back for more.
Scary horror punks The Renfields come popping out of West Virginia with a bunch of melody and hooks to make the cheesy horror lyrics go down smooth. Reminiscent of The Jasons in a lot of ways, there’s nothing here that’s going to leave anyone thinking “geez, haven’t heard that before”. Instead, like a lot of my favorite stuff, Vs. The Handbook For The Recently Horror-Punk (Chapter 1) gets by on nothing but great songs.
My favorite stuff on Vs. The Handbook is mostly mid-tempo and loaded with hooks. The first proper song, “Transylvania High”, dropped my jaw a bit. It’s got all sorts of great lead guitar, awesome hooks, and clean vocals (both up front and backing). It reminds me a bunch of something from the aforementioned Jasons, and that won’t get me complaining. After a skit, “Scene Club” pays respects to Screeching Weasel’s “Cool Kids” before each verse and has some claws that will surely sink into your brain. Maybe my favorite, “Handbook for the Recently Horror Punk” makes all sorts of Misfits references (“138”, “devilocks”) that get delivered in sugary melodies and hooks and backing vocals. And maybe my other favorite, “I Was a Teenage Cthulhu Cultist”, plays with some heavy tough riffs that remind me of the Lillingtons while “shoo-bop-bop” backing vocals sound so inviting and engaging. It’s a bunch of good stuff. Song after song of goodness, even.
But The Renfields do go through a bunch of skits that end up being six of the eleven tracks on Vs. The Handbook. These don’t do a ton for me and I’d rather get some more great music. Maybe meant to push the story forward, they just seem to be sort of funny drags, giving a little breathing room between great songs. And though I’d be alright cutting them, it’s nothing that makes any real difference as all of the skits pass by quickly, kind of like little intros and outros. They just aren’t doing any favors for me.
All that said, The Renfields Vs. The Handbook is a fantastic record. Sure, it’d stick a little more for me if it was cut down to a basic 5-song EP, but those 5 songs are catchy as all-get-out and keep me coming back for more. I just want more of the music stuff.
Favorite song: “Handbook For The Recently Horror Punk”
Favorite moment: the killer mean guitar riff on “I was a Teenage Cthulhu Cultist”
Favorite whatever else: love the lead guitar on “Transylvania High”
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
