Beer Chug Mountain Records, June 13, 2020
The Ringwalds rough up the edges of their pop punk rock.
Canada’s The Ringwalds play a simple and raw sort of punk rock, with some Ramones guitars and some tough and gruff vocals that sneer and holler with some melody. On Invasion of The Party Poopers, they play it straight mostly to solid results.
The Ringwalds share some traits with other Ramones-indebted bands: typically fast drums, buzzsaw guitars, and a bit of angst. But where other bands like this sometimes go heavy on the hooks and melodies, these guys rely more so on tough energy and rawness. While certainly not devoid of melody and hooks, the rough-and-tumble rumble of Party Poopers makes it a little less sugary and a little more rugged.
“Let’s Get Rockin” has some really cool guitar hooks and the vocals come out fast and furious, but fairly melodic. On the chorus they go with some gang vocals (not always my favorite thing), but they get it to work. “S.B.C.” reminds me a little of Teenage Bottlerocket, hitting hard with a cool vocal cadence and a singalong chorus that worms into your brain. “Puked in My Heart” does some of the same, going stop and go as they get into the chorus, and the raspy vocals sound a little more fun and endearing as they rattle on about giving a girl his heart, only to have her puke all over it. Handclaps at the end are an added bonus. This one might be my favorite of the Party Poopers bunch. And if it’s not, “Wasting My Time” is. The vocal and guitar hooks are likely the poppiest and most pronounced on the record and it’s got this dumb little lyric that ends up being super cathartic for me to yell along to, “everything you say to me, makes me wanna go berserk”. Good stuff.
All that said, a couple of the other Party Poopers songs don’t land for me in quite the same way. “Tryin’ Not To Care” doesn’t pick up steam all that quick and the hooks don’t sink in enough for me. And “Invasion of The Party Poopers” works out a sort of metal guitar riff for a minute-plus intro that sort of loses me (making a manageable two and a half minute song into a nearly four minute long number in the process). Once the song gets past that intro, it’s okay, with the laughable title being repeated while Misfits-style “whoa-ohs” do backing duty and some metal leads poke through, but getting there might be a bit of a chore.
The Ringwalds are a pretty decent new find and Invasion of The Party Poopers does what they do with no frills and no apologies. If that sounds up your alley, then The Ringwalds might be your thing.
You might like this if:
- You like your pop punk with a little bit of a ragged edge
You might not if:
- You don’t like pop punk, or you maybe don’t like raspy, raw vocals with your pop punk
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
