Revival in the form of RVIVR- an album review

When four-piece punk rock band Letterman controversially split in 2007, fans were left dejected and angsty as ever. Yet, the band’s two singers, Phil Douglas and Matt Canino moving on to other crusty, progressive pop-punk ensembles were enough to lick the wounds of the bitter. Douglas joined New York’s Iron Chic, while Canino teamed up with female vocalist Erica Freas to form RVIVR, an activist quartet.

RVIVR debuted with the simply titled, LP, in 2010. With Canino’s DIY ethics and a knack for writing tiptop melodies mixed with raw vocals and infectious choruses, LP definitely had an irrefutable charm, despite being a little rough around the edges.  Now, 3 years later, RVIVR has stormed the scene with The Beauty Between, a tighter, 14 track album with more focus and delightful imperfections that characterise the genre.

Similarly to LP, The Beauty Between wastes no time building a sweltering pace after an initial instrumental opener which successfully sets the tone. In “LMD”, Canino and Freas alternate their howls in a well-balanced duality which is rarely seen in pop-punk these days, especially when mixed with their sheer authenticity. Freas is by far the more talented singer with her gritty charm and despite not being a particularly talented vocalist Canino’s broken wails offer some balance, quelling calls for him to take a step back from lead as a backing vocalist.

After Freas gets her own track with “Spider Song”, which also features on her solo album Belly, Canino takes centre stage with “Old Dogs”, a slightly slower sentiment to their murkier counterpart Iron Chic, which does well in breaking up the album. Things pick up pace again with “Wrong way/One Way” and “Big Lie” where RVIVR are arguably at their finest. The tempo is battered forward and vocals are passed seamlessly back and forth and are upheld with outstanding song construction and musicianship, with “Big Lie” even fitting in a sax solo amongst the mania.

The second half of the album is less ferocious yet maintains quality, with guitar lines weaving in and out of one another, as evidenced in “Ocean Song” and “Paper Thin”. The songs are so well written that RVIVR can afford to take it down a notch, with stunning lines demonstrating their activist ways without sounding too preachy. 

There’s not much at fault with this record, and complaints are minor. Freas is underutilized, with Canino’s struggles exposed when he tries to sing alone and the album itself does feel a little top heavy, with the better tracks dominating the first half, but overall The Beauty Between is an earnest, energetic and gritty example of what true pop-punk should be, with the potential to be 2013’s highlight within its genre.