I think we're a little old for this (or at least we should be), but here we go again...
Whether you liked them or not, bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes were responsible for something of a rock revival. It's not really that special and usually happens at least once or twice a decade. Neither were doing anything terribly original, and perhaps it's just coincidence or high-budget marketing that made the masses notice these bands out of a slew of other similar groups. But once in the public eye, it was well-crafted songwriting, high energy, and image-conscious personalities that made The Strokes/Stripes memorable. Fortunately for mediocre bands, a resurgence of public interest in music always has a trickle down effect to call attention to the great and the not-so-great. But there's never enough love to go all the way around — and by the way, this great movement I'm talking about happened like five fucking years ago!
In theory, there's nothing wrong with The Drips, and they shouldn't be faulted for lack of innovation. I have no problem with the notion of making balls to the wall rock 'n' roll that simply feels good to listen to, and The Drips fill this space adequately. And although no one said you have to innovate to be interesting, The Drips (as well as a million other bands) deserve some criticism for a lack of creativity in their genre.
Their self-titled disc is filled with throat-scraping vocals, belted out over guitars that could tear speakers apart. Sonically, their fiery recording is reminiscent of Guitar Wolf (but of course they're missing the Japanese take on Americana that made Guitar Wolf interesting). Their guitar/vocal-driven hooks are very simple yet surprisingly compelling when played through The Drips' amped-up sound. Their angst seems to explode out of the gate, but loses impact the longer the album goes on. There's certainly something to be said for the sound of pissed-off, upper-middle class suburban punks, but aside from some sarcastic remarks about superficial beauty and fake friends, The Drips aren't as agro as their music initially seems. They're more like TV's The O.C. — a glorified version of a suburb missing any real signs of raw emotion.
It may be unfairly critical to say that The Drips have missed the boat when they're using the same formulas that have been effective for 30+ years, and it's sad to think that music can be "so last season." However, if they were scraping anything other than mediocrity, none of this would be an issue. After the success of The Hives, The Vines, and more recently The Dead 60s and HARD-Fi (in addition to countless others that have briefly passed under TMT's radar, only to be forgotten), The Drips just don't do enough to distinguish themselves from the pack.
1. Broken
2. Downbrown
3. All Kids — Dead
4. I'm Gene
5. Triplets
6. Old Sex
7. 16, 16, Six
8. Wasted Time
9. M.I.L.K
10. Fountains
11. Coastline 1. Broken
2. Downbrown
3. All Kids - Dead
4. I'm Gene
5. Triplets
6. Old Sex
7. 16, 16, Six
8. Wasted Time
9. M.I.L.K
10. Fountains
11. Coastline
More about: The Drips
