Last week saw the release of Wirral based band, Rhine Valley’s very first single, ‘Tell the Truth’. Listen to the song below and read on to hear James’ thoughts:
Remember high school? British bulldog at lunchtime, sneaking cheeky cigarettes where the teachers can’t see you, and that one girl that you just can’t seem to take your eyes off? The one with the mesmerising smile and the ripped jeans? Except that when you talk to the girl, you realise she doesn’t have anything to say, and she listens to the Vengaboys un-ironically, and had clip on earrings. Rhine Valley are this pretty girl. ‘Tell the Truth‘ starts off edgy enough with muted crunchy guitars over a meaningful Interpol-esque bassline, before exploding into a soundscape of piano (that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Born to Run) and sweeping synth which is really quite beautiful.
Then the verse starts… and keeps going… and it never really seems to stop. It stays that way for about three minutes, barely threatening to break out of its self-made diamond shell, diminished by one-dimensional lyrics that don’t really tell a story or detail a situation at all. Opening a song with “and I can see you from across the room/and you look at me/and I look at you” isn’t the ideal way grab somebody’s attention. The last minute of the song hints at their skill of song craft, a successful crescendo and breakdown makes you think that these guys might have other songs that could have been better suited to make you sit up and take notice as their first single. To conclude, this band do have something! They just need to find out what it is first.
2.5/5
You can keep in touch with all the band’s activities on Facebook and Twitter @RhineValleyBand.
Written by James Kitchen
Do you agree with James’ thoughts? Are you excited to see what’s next for Rhine Valley? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us@FringeCultureBl.
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