RIDDLIN’ KIDS “Hurry Up and Wait”
Hoping to take a cue from MCA’s success with NEW FOUND GLORY, Columbia Records added Texas’ melodic power-punkers, RIDDLIN’ KIDS to their stable. While musically, these guys have their chops down pat, the relative blandness of the vocals and the apparent lack of personality have doomed this band in my opinion to becoming nothing more than a mediocre act. At 15 songs, and 47 minutes of music, this band seems to get lost in their own well-played style as songs become repetitive, chorus’ become limited, and the music lacks urgency. Just because a band can play a song fast and loud, doesn’t mean that the hooks are any deeper or the intensity is any stronger. For the most part, the RIDDLIN’ KIDS hang in that safe zone of mid-to-fast tempo pop-punk with slightly hardcore breakdowns and big-backing vocals. The band’s actually a bit more appealing when they stray from the more typical beats, as their lyrical hooks are accentuated stronger – unfortunately, even these bright moments can’t help save a vocalist who sounds like his hand is caught in a vice while a squirrel’s chewing at his ankle. After about the eighth track, I’ve had enough. To completely seal the fate of this release to the dollar bins, there’s another entirely useless cover of REM’s “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.” These guys have potential, but poor planning has led “Hurry Up and Wait” to come off as a bloated, soulless act that is in dire need of charm.
Columbia
