Red Riders - The Plan A

Thu 29th Sep, 2005 in Music Reviews

The Plan A is obviously a feeler for next year’s breakthrough Red Riders disc. Chances are it’ll be huge. And why wouldn’t it be: anyone listening to commercial FM stations and hearing the blistering 90 seconds of Mouthful O’Riot is instantly going to see the light.

“They walk around with their big guns ready
I’m just too lazy and bored…
Dumb arse punks with a mouthful o’ riot”

What are their choices? Next year’s Pussycat Dolls, the fifth single off Pete Murray’s latest album, James Blunt and animated ringtones? Red Riders sound like the revolution in comparison. Mouthful O’ Riot is a faultlessly tight anthem that even manages to squeeze in a bit of a guitar break. All right.

The rest of the EP recalls Weezer’s green album, Elvis Costello and the Attraction’s Get Happy! And is more Kinks than Beatles. Which is always a good thing. The lyrics on the remaining four songs may be vacuous to the point of distracting but so what, it’s just rock’n’roll, right? The direction they’re heading does, at times resemble an Australian version of Maximo Park (especially on Hey Kid) but so what, like I said, they’ll be huge. Or at least they should be.

Five songs in under fourteen minutes. Let’s keep it brief.