joenormal's Full Review: The Phenomenon of Craving [EP] by Good Riddance
Released in 2000, this 6 song e.p. provides the listener with an excellent introduction into the sound that is Good Riddance without having to go out and spend the money on an expensive full-length album.
If you've never heard of this quartet from Santa Cruz, CA, then let me get you up to speed. Good Riddance combines the music of pop-punk with the message of political awareness. Simply put, Good Riddance takes the energy of bands like NOFX, yet lyrically sound more like the Dead Kennedys.
The band combines fast drum beats, chugging guitar riffs, melodic basslines with angst ridden lyrics. The angry voice of Russ Rankin mixes in with the flowing guitar lines of Luke Pabich, the hardcore drumming style of Sean Sellers and the phat basslines of Chuck Platt.
The topics that Good Riddance cover vary from paranoia as conveyed on the album's opening track "Cages" to self-defeat as conveyed on "One for the Braves" to a loss of human rights as displayed on "Uniontown".
This is not to say that Good Riddance is all about the politics. The band does ponder onto topics such as the ever popular love song.
From the track "Start At Zero":
"In the freezing rain, waiting on the last train,
This is how we live, how we fall in love,
Last time that we spoke, the room was full of smoke,
I watched the clock and watched you walk away"
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this record are donated to The Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, CA showing that the quartet does have a charitable side. In the midst of today's MTV corporate music culture, it is good to see the occasional band actually have a heart.
What one finds in bands like Good Riddance is a band that is able to sit down and write lyrics and music with a soul. This is a rarity in today's top 40 culture. Most bands these days are more concerned with crafting that one hit wonder versus composing an entire album of well thought out songs.
So, if you're into pop-punk that strays away from the corny style that is Blink 182 and one that deals with more serious subject matter than your typical Green Day rip-off band, Good Riddance should be right up your alley. However, if thinking makes your head hurt, than this band may not be for you.
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