nothin The Right-Offs Are Right On | New Haven Independent

The Right-Offs Are Right On

Indie rock. Kraut rock. Math rock. Post-rock.

It’s all good. But are there any bands around New Haven that just play straight-up rock n’ roll anymore?

Yes. And one of those bands is the Right-Offs.

The trio — Man Loignon on vocals and guitar, Than Rolnick on bass, and Erik Vumback on drums — hase been making the rounds of New Haven’s club scene for at least a year; the next show is this coming Monday night at Cafe Nine.

And this week the band roars out of the gate with their first full-length release, Quiet Down, an aggressive, snarling, intelligent, and witty record that takes up the flag of good old rock n’ roll, hoists it high, and waves it hard.

As the cheeky title suggests, Quiet Down is anything but. Its first track, Ways of the Western World,” gives you a half-second to take a breath along with Loignon before all three band members hit the song’s first beat and race off with it in a tight, driving groove. But the band’s agile smarts come out quick, too: History is a well-coiffed murderer,” Loignon croons. Coming for me quick, coming for me quick, gonna cut me down.” The song builds to its promised release in the chorus, where Loignon lets his guitar off the leash. I’m still trying to fight em from the inside out,” he barks. I’m still trying not to let the air breathe me. / I’m still trying to learn the ways of the Western world.”

I might be pretty messed up, but I know the world is, too. It’s a message that punks have been delivering with wild success for decades. The Right-Offs prove they can do it, too, and kick up the musical rage to make it stick. Western World” sets the stage for even harder rockers later in the album, from the second number, Hard Work,” to the album’s closer, the swinging Break It Up,” to the blister-raising Red, Green, and Blue.”

But Quiet Down makes room for some humor, too, as in Night Is A Shadow,” about a night out that goes south. There’s a hot fire / waiting for those / very rich boys / in poor man’s clothes,” Loignon sings, with rising (and hilarious) desperation. Place got filled up / with Travis Bickles / Please don’t touch me / Hey, that tickles / I think I’ll go now / This party’s lame / I’ve been puked on / You forgot my name.” Meanwhile, an acoustic guitar lends additional strut to Ginger Gin,” about a relationship that may be on its way out, even in the time it takes to play the song.

Most of all, though, in pledging allegiance to rock n’ roll, Quiet Down shows that the genre, much-maligned these days, still has plenty of life in it. The Right-Offs know their history, musical and otherwise. But the band also knows when to leave it behind by turning up those amps loud, hitting the drums hard, and stepping up to the microphone to shout until the world listens.

Tags:

Sign up for our morning newsletter

Don't want to miss a single Independent article? Sign up for our daily email newsletter! Click here for more info.


Post a Comment

Commenting has closed for this entry

Comments

There were no comments