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As soon as Square Pegs, the debut album by The Ryes begins you will probably do as I did and feel disappointment in that -yet again- you have come across another UK "The Kooks" wannabe band. That being said, by the time that the first chorus hits in you realize that this band offer a lot more than initial impression and the Kooks resemblance is more by accidental proxy than anything else i.e. the guys are from similar parts of the country and have similar accents. That being said however there are other lines throughout the album that sound so much like Luke from The Kooks that for a couple of seconds you forget that it is The Ryes you are listening to and not The Kooks new album.
The first song (How Come Loretta)'s chorus is uber catchy and has multiple part harmonies that remind me of the quality of something Silver Sun were doing in the 90s and the Beach Boys were doing in the 60s and 70s. The 80s genre even gets covered in this song with the ace and rarely used linear fade out that is hardly heard in modern music.
The Ryes debut album is a very diverse offering and demonstrates excellent musicianship skills (particularly the lead guitar and bass player). It also demonstrates that in all probability everyone within this band is contributing to the vocals to help give it the depth of harmony that is heard. All I can hope is that they are offering the same depth of harmony that is on the record at their live shows. If so, The Ryes are going to be an unstoppable force that (mark my words) will very shortly be a household name.
The Ryes specialize and perfectly execute four things. Good song structure, good melody, choruses that are more catchy than a common cold and vast diversity within their genre. By that I mean they are quite blatantly an indie rock band but they aren't just staying with one style which is what makes this album so fun to listen to as you never know what's coming around the corner with each new song. As the one song ends you feel disappointment that it is over yet excitement to see what the next twist is going to be.
I can hear loads of bands that I love within this album but none of them ever stay long enough to feel like a copycat but more so you can see that these guys are quite eclectic with their music taste and have used their influences to the highest form. Influences I can hear often in this album are The Kooks, Dodgy, Silver Sun, The Beatles, Mika, The Beach Boys, The Police and Queen amongst many others.
If your looking for a fun album to while away hours while travelling to or from the beach - something that could become the anthem of your summer - then The Ryes debut album might possibly be it. Give it a try. We're pretty sure you will fall in love. The album has enough hooks to catch even the biggest fish so don't be surprised if you are hooked after just one listen.
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