german dutch italian spanish french
...Reviews!!
THE
RIFF RANDELLS
"Doublecross`" LP
german dutch
italian spanish french
ENGLISH
coming soon.
INCOGNITO
(GERMANY) MARCH 2008 Kanadisches All-Girl-Trio in der Tradition der
MODERNETTES oder B-GIRLS, mit flottem Bubblegum Pop Punk im Stil von SUZY &
LOS QUATTRO und den BOBBYTEENS mit einer ordentlichen Prise RAMONES. Ein perfekter
Spaß für Teenager "ewig jung gebliebene" und andere Dauerstudenten.
Unter den 12 Songs befindet sich als Abschluß noch die Nummer "Bandana"
im Original von den LITTLE GIRLS.
KICK OUT THE JAMS (SPAIN) OCT 2007 Alien Snatch! es un de esos sellos que poco a poco van creciendo y teniendo en su catalogo un buen puñado de buenas bandas, hace tiempo ya editaron un 10” a estas chicas de Vancouver, el año pasado volvieron a editar la versión en vinilo para todo el mundo de su ultimo trabajo, disponible en formato digital para el sello americano Dirtnap, la formula no ha variado, power pop en toda regla hecho por chicas que perdieron su cabeza por nombres propios como Nikki y las Corvettes, Ramones, Joan Jett, Shangri-Las o Bobbyteens, si cualquiera de sus singles anteriores se te pasaron por alto, esta es la oportunidad de escuchar ronk and rolear akathy, Anne y Kj desde el titulo que da nombre al este album “Double Croos” pasando por ese fantastico “When You Go”, Gotta Move On” ó “The Only One”, con todos las manías del mejor power pop que no pop insípido, ritmos rápidos, guitarras raspadas y melodías vocales para cerrar con una muy respetable versión del “Bandana” de mis queridas Little Girls. (OA)
Dig
It ! (FRANCE) MAY 2008
Après un 25cm il y a quelque temps, Alien Snatch sort le premier vrai
album des Canadiennes Riff Randells (version CD sur Dirtnap Rds). Les filles
de Vancouver font déjà un carton dans les garages où trônent
au mur de vieilles photos de Nikki Corvette ou des Shangri-La's, sauf que les
Riff Randells sont apparememment beaucoup plus déterminées à
faire parler la poudre, elles ont la jeunesse pour elles et font moins shampouineuses
que les Donnas. Sur des bases qui touillent sans complexes Chuck Berry et les
Ramones, les donzelles réalisent avec ce Doublecross un joli coup d'expertes
en mélodies catchy et riffs secouants. On est clients de ce genre de
traitement "power pop rock & punk" indémodable et éternel.
(GC)
THE RIFF RANDELLS - Lethal Lipgloss 10"
ENGLISH
HIGH HEELS SLUT (Belgium) June 2004 Vinyl release of the 6-song cd ep that got released on Delmonica Records (that got drumster Anne-Marie involved), but it wouldn’t be ALIEN SNATCH! if Daniel hadn’t included a vinyl-only bonus track. It’s my first time around with the Riff Randells, but right from the first chords on they already got me hooked. These 3 Canadian girls (bassplayer Justin recently got replaced by a 3rd chick) belt out melodic yet very catchy punkrock, without tumbling into the obvious poppunk cliché traps. In the vein of the very first DONNAS records when they still sounded like a fresh and sparkling mixture of the RUNAWAYS and the RAMONES, instead of the hardrockin’ stars they wanna be nowadays. This one’s gonna get a very regular spin here at the HHS hq.(WC)
VINYL
A-GO-GO (USA) JUNE 2003
”It’s
NOT chillax! What kind of sense does THAT make?”
”Dude, that’s what they say! CHILL...AX”
“Alright, I guess so, it makes more sense than CHILL...ASS, but there’s no way
they say Foreman Grill.”
”Hell yes nutley! They totally say Foreman Grill”
Mike and I argued back and forth about this all summer. I finally admitted
defeat. The RIFF RANDELLS do indeed use words such as chillax (to discover it’s
origin read the interview Grath conducted with them a few months ago) and name
drop the Foreman Grill. It’s a beautiful thing. Along with providing counter
arguments Mike had also hooked me up with demo versions of most of the songs
on this slab of wax. Along with those wondrous demos I’ve also heard, and lauded,
their Lipstick Records single for its glorious mix of pop, rock and roll, and
good time attitude.
This ten-inch continues where that brilliant single left off. Along with new
versions of the classics “C’mon,” and “M.O.” you also get five new hits to shake
your boogie on Saturday night. Honestly there is no better bubblegum rock and
roll band doing what The Riff Randells do. If you love sneering, bubbling, poppy,
fun loving girls singing songs about psychotic, heartbreaking, fun loving, heart-palpitating
boys then The RIFF RANDELLS are your girls. Beloved by both pop-punk and hot
action rock and rollers The RIFF RANDELLSare the band that could perhaps quell
the clashing due to the fact that they are not very pop-punk at all, yet are
fun loving and catchy enough so as to not scare off the timid and shy gum-stuck
wussy pop-punk kids. Hotted up, sexy rock and rollers love them because they
are all those things.
I’ve never been to Canada and until very recently hadn’t kissed a real rock
and roll girl. And yet I still love The RIFF RANDELLS. Of course the fact that
there are two women in the band shouldn’t be some sort of beckoning beacon.
Just because I dig girls and rock and roll doesn’t mean I dig The RIFF RANDELLS
simply because they ARE girls who rock and roll. Hell no brother. I’m in it
for the rocking and rolling. I got Nikki and The Corvettes burning in my soul,
but since Nikki didn’t get her stuff on the road and back in the studio until
very recently I’ve been looking for something of my times, a funtime band with
the saccharine vocals and unique perspective of a rock and roll girl to shake
things up.
I’ve said it a million times, but most guys just can’t make funtime rock and
roll music. They’re so obsessed with ROCKING that they forget to roll. The RIFF
RANDELLS got the roll. Boy do they. Snappy, poppy, foot shaking chords with
fuzzed-out pins and needles leads and songs about going out, sitting down, making
out, shaking it around, hitting the streets, chillaxing, thinking about calling;
all the fun stuff we rock and roll types love.
When The RIFF RANDELLS finally blow out the vinyl a few inches and land an album
on the sugar rockers of the world we’ll all be partying for weeks and years
- our tight pants stained with Coca-Cola and our Chucks stuck to the floor with
sugar, sweat, and funtimes. Until then we’ve got 10” of sassy rock and roll,
hooked on pop, and blasted out the door of a fun cruising Dance Mobile. Yeah!
(LH)
THE COURGE (UK) March 2003 Now this is some supremely good shit - gobby chicks with fiesty pop-punk riffs (by name and by nature) singing about getting it on, getting what they want and appearing to have insane amounts of fun in relaying their tales of the afore-mentioned. Named after a character from Rock N' Roll High School, Vancouver’s bubblegum teenybopping girlpunk threesome The RIFF RANDELLS (lead singer and guitarist Kathy, drummer and singer Anne-Marie and token bloke Justin on bass) are as infectious as Nikki and the Corvettes and as raw as early Donnas as they storm their way through this much-too-brief EP’s killer swarm of buzzing hooks, belting out half sugary/half snotty Joan Jett style vocals, blaring and dirty old school Ramonesy power chords and ragged snapping drums. A leather-jacketed Thunderbird driving battle of the sexes brews within the lyrical content, gender-empowered but not always victorious, joyously basking in the glow of cliched American retro-romanticism (that deftly avoids heavy-handedness) and all 7tracks, in particular the riot-cheerleader inflected Mississippi Hotdog, the monstrous yet sprightly chugger of Heartbreaker and the anthemic M.O.’s thrashing trashy ‘go go go!’s, are Fonzarelli cool, guaranteed to get heads bobbing and feet bouncing. These Riffs are inflicting major damage to my Repeat play function.(Ash Pocock)
RAZORCAKE
(USA) MARCH 2003 What makes one band that takes cues from the RAMONES
like instructions off chalk board work while so many fail miserably? I´m
not sure how this studyin´process of two chord rock goes, but the RIFF
RANDELLS (the names´takin´PJ Soles character or Rock´n´Roll
High School) like LA´s PINKZ, sure as fuck pull it off. Perhabs, it´s
easier to do it if your´re from another country (they´re from Canada..TEENGENERATE,
another RAMONES inspired radioactive pinhead crew were from JAPAN) Perhabs it´s
alternate universe thinking: "What if the RAMONES were really LADIES? What
would they sound like?" Now you know. Really fucking good. I´d put
the RIFF RANDELLS in the Top Ten percent of the EYELINERS live show. They keep
it fun, sound sexy, look tough, and have a persistent eye-patch, so all bases
are covered. If you´re lookin´for the re-invention of the wheel,
look elsewhere but if you´re looking who can blow big bubbles that burst
melodies into daggers, here´s the ticket, all laced up in a pair or wrecked
converse (todd)
NOW
WAVE MAGAZINE (USA) FEB 2003 The
RIFF RANDELLS are gods. I bow to them. You should too---as should your mom,
your significant other, your therapist, and the creepy old guy you always see
loitering in front of the mini-mart at two o’clock in the morning. Let the deification
ceremonies commence. Just when you thought that all Canadian bands sucked, along
comes this mega-awesome power trio to remind you that a nation that once gave
us The B GIRLS, POINTED STICKS, and MODERNETTES clearly CANNOT be dismissed!
The RIFF RANDELLS’ LETHAL LIPGLOSS EP: I hate to overuse the word “perfection”.
But if the shoe fits.....
Imagine the very coolest girl-fronted punky power pop
bands you’ve ever heard. The RIFF RANDELLS are in THAT league. No question
about it. They’re as cool as Coke. They’re the answer to your prayers. They’re
the best thing since microwave popcorn.
Like the BOBBYTEENS and early DONNAS, this fabulicious three-piece recalls the
killer pop/punk stylings of vintage NIKKI and the CORVETTES. I’m talking a fun,
infectious bubblegum punk hit parade. I’m talking catchy, sexy, good-time pop/rock
action that’s best enjoyed while cruising in the summertime, making out in the
backseat of your car, or dancing deliriously around your bedroom. I’m talking
seven irresistible tunes blasting forth at 45 RPM’s on a super-thick slab of
ten-inch wax. I’m talking the best damn RAMONES-influenced band this side of
Uranus. Can ya dig?!! Buzzsaw radio is here to stay, and it would behoove you
to board this bandwagon before it stomps your sorry ass!
This, my friend, is rock n’ roll at its finest. Kathy Camaro tattoos will surely
be the big craze of next summer. (JR)
SMASHIN TRANSISTORS (USA) FEB 2003 Bold black and fushia horizontal stripes! Maybe coy but not shy, the RIFF RANDELLS like "doing it" but don't turn it into a skankfest like some tuff chicks bands are doing up to the point of parody these days. It's sweet tasting yet venomous lipgloss that bops like the GO´-GO´s and rev's like the RAMONES (DM)
MAXIMUM ROCK-N-ROLL (USA) FEB 2003 ...The Snatch people also put out a record that made my day for a whole week, the RIFF RANDALLS Lethal Lipgloss 10". It's everything I wanted a girl band to be: cute, sassy, poppy, and did I mention cute and sassy? There's equal parts RAMONES, RUNAWAYS, NIKKI CORVETTE, Radio X-era DONNAS and maybe even a little bit of CHIXDIGGIT in 'em (oh, the delightful double entendre).("Burning Bridges and Making Friends with Bobby Manic")
SAVAGE
MAGAZINE (SWEDEN) DECEMBER 2002 I
think these guys only released a 7” before this but I’m not sure. They’re from
Calgary, Canada and play really cool Donnas-style punkrock as in the DONNAS
first record. They have a cool sound too. My only problem is that I think the
songs are too alike or something, they don’t stand out enough. When I’ve listened
to the whole record I can’t remember a single song. But when I listen to it
I really like it. Weird… If you dig that sound it’s really worth picking up!
(MS)
3RD GENERATION NATION MARCH 2004 #27 Mit dem kanadischen Trio Riff Randells hat es "Alien Snatch!" geschafft, mal wieder ´ne astreine Mädchencombo an den Start zubekommen. Denn in diesem Genre ist in letzter Zeit so manche Band irgendwie in der Versenkung verschwunden oder aber, es ist nur noch sehr gleichklingende Musik dabei rausgekommen. Bei den sieben Tracks hier spielen auch die RAMONES, wie bei fast allen Bands dieses Kaliber, ´ne musikalische Hauptrolle. Doch die Riff Randells wissen es zu verstehen, dazu ´ne ordentlich knackige Bockwurst zu servieren. Wo andere Bands süßlich vor sich her am säuseln sind und auf Zuckerwatte wandeln, gehen die drei Girls so richtig schön frech und unverblümt in die Vollen. Hat was.....!(Real Shock, Vier von Fünf Sternen)
CHOKE (AUSTRIA) MAY 2003 Eine Hitplatte auf Alien Snatch! 10“ – 7 Songs – 2 Mädchen – 1 Typ. Aus Kanada. Klar schreit man hier DONNAS! Oder MUFFS! Oder FASTBACKS! Mir doch egal wie diese ganzen Bands heißen, diese Songs hier machen LAUNE!!!! Den Kopf von links nach rechts – und wieder zurück werfen und dabei mit den Hüften schlenkern! POPPUNK mit garstigem Mädchengesang, mehr brauch ich da gar nicht. Lasst mich jetzt in Ruhe ich muss tanzen!
PLASTIC BOMB (GERMANY) DEZEMBER 2002 Ich muss schon sagen, dass auf dem ALIEN SNATCH! Label fast nur schweinegeile Platten rauskommen ! Ein dickes Lob ! Welches ich sofort an die RIFF RANDELLS weiterleite. Das canadische Trio, zwei Frauen, ein Typ - spielt mitreißenden einfachen Punk Rock, mit etwas garage und rocknroll drin. Der weibliche gesang kann auch alles. Viele kriegen jetzt sicher ne Gänsehaut, wenn ich einen RAMONES Einfluss erwähne. Schließlich hat den jeder mindestens jede zweite Band dieser Stilrichtung. Aber ihr könnt eure Nackenhaare wieder runterbügeln. Denn die RIFF RANDELLS haben einfach Power, haben Feuer, und man merkt zu jeder Sekunde, dass sie mit Spass, Elan und nicht zu bremsenden Enthusiasmus an diese 7 Songs rangegangen sind. Sonst würden die nämlich nicht so überzeugend rüberkommen. Hit ! Aber hallo ! (mw)
GUITARS GALORE (GERMANY) DEZEMBER 2002 Bubblegum Punk aus Vancouver, Kanada. Zwei Girls, ein Typ. Kathy und Anne-Marie haben diesen typischen leicht quäkigen Girlpunk Snarl, den wir von den RUNAWAYS oder NIKKI & The CORVETTES kennen. Und über allem schwebt - soundmäßig und auch sonst - der Geist von Joey und Dee Dee Ramone. "Mississippi Hot Dog", "Lethal Lipgloss", "Psycho Boyfriend" - es ist schwer, einen Song herauszuheben aus dieser 7-track 10" 45r.p.m. EP. Alles unwiderstehliche Ohrwürmer (mk)
Dig
It ! (France) #27 FEB 2003 Si vous êtes
curieux d'entendre ce que donne un cocktail Ramones / Nikki & The Corvettes
(tiens à propos, Nikki apparait sur l'album des DEMONICS pour une reprise
en duo d'un titre des Corvettes) servi par les RUNAWAYS, penchez vous sur le
25 cm (après deux 45t) des RIFF RANDELLS, trio canadien garage-fun percutant
qu'on pourrait rapprocher des early-DONNAS sans prendre trop de risques. Ce
Lethal Lipgloss balancé par deux punk-rock girls (le troisième
larron est un mec) aux voix accrocheuses propose sept titres rapides et énervés
aux allures de mini-hits garage-punk-pop.