The Lost Riots / Cry Havoc! Split
The Lost Riots might be my favorite band.
Yeah, I know, I know what you’re saying- What about The Spice Girls? But I believe they’re disbanded now and I have little hope of The Little River Band producing any more material. So I’ve, more or less, come to terms with my choice.
But I’m more than confident in choosing Connecticut as my favorite state as far as producing bands we cover. It’s Andy’s choice at well. There’s great bands from every state we cover, but we’ve just had great experiences with bands from that state- like M-13, Damn Broads, The Lost Riots and Cry Havoc!
And coincidently, I hear that The Lost Riots are also doing a split with The Spice Girls- no, that’s not right. It another all girl band, the great punk/hardcore/Oi band Damn Broads.
And coincidently, I’ve been told I tend to repeat myself.
But I don’t think that I really do.
I really don’t think that I do.
In fact, I’m positive- I really don’t think I repeat myself.
The Lost Riots combine a hardcore vocal delivery with music, influenced and equal to the music that sprung from The Lower East Side, New York in the mid to late seventies. Exciting, gritty music packed with desperate, meaningful lyrics causing me to accuse them of finding lost songs by Thunders, The Dead Boys, Richard Hell & The Voidoids and calling them their own.
This didn’t happen, of course, but just to make me feel this, I feel is a wonderful thing.
Cry Havoc has always been one of our favorite bands, not just from Connecticut, but on our site. And I believe they’re my favorite hardcore band right now.
And a lot has to do with their singer, Jonny Miller, who is probably the most energetic, involving front man from any any band we cover. He may not split his head open with the microphone every time he plays now, but he still exerts so much energy and expresses so much frustration and love and hate and exuberance that, unless you’re talking Iggy Pop, no other current names come to my mind to challenge him.
And the bands’ music has always contained a kind of quirky, progressive style of hardcore that is potent and powerful as the early hardcore but actually, sounds nothing like it.
So mixing these two bands are like mixing rock with roll, punk with hardcore, Jameson with Narragansett, sex with excitement, love with lust.
Let’s garnish this mix with a lime and take a listen:
Starting with a strong trebly, bass line worthy of Kim Deal from The Pixies- The Lost Riots “Bad Attitude” crashes in with some bashing drums and crashing, amphetamine like guitar over a simple, but effective three note line worthy of Steve Diggle of The Buzzcocks. Then the high-pitched, snarling vocals comes barging in. “Everyone think I got a bad attitude, and everyone thinks that I’m just being rude.” This song is brash, bratty, obnoxious, crass and vulgar and those are just some of its’ good points! The guitar lick expands to incorporate a few extra notes, the rhythm blares away in rock’n’roll punk abandon. “Wakin’ up on the wrong side of the bed, every day spent hungover and dead.” And all of this creates a great song that sounds like it could’ve been a classic punk one from the early days.
The same bands’ “Bad Blood” starts with a rockin’ drum beat and a somewhat psychedelic guitar lick that teases perhaps a cover of “We’re An American Band” is about to be set loose upon us. “We were the kids that you loved to hate…heroin bags lined the streets and all my friends are six feet deep.” This song rocks along energetically with vocals that make me think of AC/DC mixed with Bad Brains, a rhythm that swings like Johnny Thunders along with some great, guitar work, that rocks out to a sharp, two chord finish.
Cry Havoc’s “I’m Fuckin’ Done” is a mad onslaught of hyper-vitriolic vocals coupled with a machine like acceleration of blistering, fast hardcore. After three verses it slows to a less frantic pace with a chuggin’ bass lick leading into a still as intense, in your face vocal along with a powerful, rockin’, funkin’ groove ending with a brief return to the beginning insane rush. Plus, a lyric I take directed, directly at me, “Shut the fuck up and die.” This is an exhilarating, emotional, exuberant, excellent song.
The same bands’ “Leech” arrives with some pounding drums and some buzzsaw, slicing guitars along with a great, solid groove but when the intense, hysterical vocals rip in, the energy level rises up a notch. This song combines a great, rockin’ punk rhythm, with formidable, hardcore vocals and threatening, sounding metal guitars. There’s a unique, rhythmic breakdown part that has echo-y screams in the background before it roars back in with the beginning part. This is a highly original, highly potent, ferociously fierce great song.
So who wins out in this musical battle equivalent in the Boxing World as Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran?
I’m not sure who won here but I will say- I feel these are two of the very best bands we cover and when it’s my time to pick the best cd/ep’s of the year, I’m confident that this split will be amongst them.
But enough talking about music- let’s get Jeffrey (The Lost Riots) singer, and Jonny (Cry Havoc) in the ring to battle it out. Hell, I’ll even referee.
But if I was a betting man, my money would go on Jonny.
Him hitting his head so much with the microphone, I’m sure he could weather a lot of blows, last a lot of rounds. And if I was refereeing, well, then you know who I would make the winner, if I had money riding on it?
But I’ll tell you one bet I wouldn’t take.
I wouldn’t bet that I’ll run into, much better music this year, than I have right here.
For me it’s a total knockout.
(Slimedog)
