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Ricky:
High Speed Silence
Ricky is one of the more high-profile Brit acts we've seen in a while. Last years self-released The Summer Sun Still Echoes received four stars in Q, and promotion for this new record is hyperactive and seemingly omnipresent among the underground review sites. Putting thin vocals (think the passivity and reediness of Transatlanticism and its progeny, a quickly-acquired taste) over anthemic, power-chord guitar, the band seems more than anything like Oasis's younger and more O.C.-ready brother. Beginning with the stadium-esque and impressive Easy on You, with its well-integrated Hammond and distinctive, whiny vocal, the taste of which is soon acquired, the album runs through some cherished references while remaining original and fun: from the Graceland riffs and clever guitar of Running" (this reviewer's favorite track) to the irritating honky-tonk of "Sonny Barger," it's a world-spanning experiment in cultures and sounds that never fails to carry the band's distinctive voice. For a band with such proud, strong guitar riffs, the least interesting tracks are those which fall on the Beautiful South side of the line: "The Kick Inside, Windblown Alleyway," and most of I Can Lead You to War are less than stellar, soft-pedaling attempts at challenging a more sensitive side of the rock that Ricky wants to be. "War" ends up being one of the best songs on the album, although it's almost too soft and slow after the uninteresting, trimmable fat of the album's second half. That Extra Mile was described best by an acquaintance: "What this song didn't need was the brass section. It just needed to be better." A conventional structure and predictable chorus don't carry through on the promise of the other tracks. Pretend puts the vocals front and center, Belle & Sebastian style, but lacks the melodic structure that saves so many of the latter band's excesses from collapsing on themselves. Once the full band kicks in, it's easier to take, but there's nothing here you haven't seen before. Likewise, the big single Stop Knocking the Walls Down (which opened at #32 on the UK singles chart), rocks a wall of guitars and rhythmically seems like nothing less than a percussionist's doctoral thesis. A catchy, Top 40 song that shows off the better qualities of this band in the least threatening way imaginable, it's inferior to some of the less obvious songs on the record but is a good choice. That being said, most of the album is catchy, listenable and fun. Speculation carries more than a little Oasis glitter, tambourine- and guitar-wise, but it's a brilliant indie move, and one of the most effective tracks on the album with its sublime chorus. In terms of range and technical intelligence, Mise-En-Scene uses its harpsichord, brass and "bop-bop-bop" very well, constructing a fantasy land in which Brian Wilson and Neil Young replaced the Beatles as the go-to musical reference source. It's brilliant, perhaps the best on the album. Recommended for fans of Material Issue, Stellastarr* and current and mid-'90s Top 40.
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