Riskee and The Ridicule honour New York singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey with their own unique take on her hit ‘Young And Beautiful’.

 

Not a band you can second guess, unpredictable Kent punks Riskee and The Ridicule follow-up their first lockdown release in May, the seething anger of the Brexit-baiting single ‘Blue Jacket’, with their own respectful take on New York pop singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey’s award-winning 2013 smash-hit, ‘Young And Beautiful’. This, however, is no guilty pleasure for the band, who are longtime fans of Lana’s work.

 

“Lana Del Rey is one of pop music’s best storytellers,” states frontman Scott Picking. “There’s something about her music that is so intense and descriptive that it’s movie-like and in these times of being locked down, that type of escapism has been a personal paradise. In choosing this song, I knew I could bring something different vocally and musically, we were excited about changing the song dynamically while staying true to the emotiveness of the original.”

Despite being isolated from each other at the time, Riskee and The Ridicule were able to create a video for ‘Young And Beautiful’ by recording their individual parts at home, allowing their former bassist David Thomas to collate them together with footage from one of the bands early hometown gigs.

 

“The video feels like a nod to both our early days as a band, just us and our own motivation, as well as where we are all at in this unique moment, one that we’re not likely to be in again any time soon (hopefully). ‘Young And Beautiful’ is a song I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” confesses Scott.

 

2019 was an amazing year for the band and saw the highly anticipated release of their third album ‘Body Bag Your Scene’ well received by both fans and critics alike, with their sets at Rebellion and Boomtown proving to be real highlights of 2019

Body Bag Your Scene was written and recorded at breakneck speed, a reflection of its reactionary nature to the daily uncertainty projected upon us. Taking aim at the powers that be (“Our Time”), sexual exploitation (“Sex”) and the barrage of contradictory news (“Black, White & Grey”) it’s a record that holds a mirror to the world with simultaneously acerbic and humorous analysis.

 

Growing up in Kent, Riskee and The Ridicule have always been a staple of the UK DIY scene, but their fervent attitude and unique “Grime-Punk” rallied troops of dedicated fans across the world. Musically, the band meld their genre-spanning influences with their intent to challenge preconceptions. On the surface they may appear easy to read, when in fact Scott Picking (Vocals), Jimbo Aglony (Guitars, Vocals), Jordan Mann (Guitars, Vocals) and Matt Verrell (Drums, Vocals) are a gang of progressive punks who form a powerhouse of change. Full of fierce energy, the Kent quartet have motives resting among The Clash with relentless streams of wit, literacy, and observational accuracy akin to The Smiths and a background in the UK Grime scene.

 

There is much more to come. You can be sure that Riskee and The Ridicule will be back onstage as soon as the world allows.

 

Buy ‘Young And Beautiful’ Here

 

Find Riskee and The Ridicule online at: Bomber Music / Band Website / Facebook / Twitter

Finally, Friends of RPM ONLINE The Hip Priests get added to the bill for 2020 along with some other heavyweight bands we love.  No doubt all roads lead North West for the Spasm Gang along with Bouncing Souls and T.S.O.L these additions have excited us here at RPM HQ that’s for sure.

If you’ve never heard of the Hip Priests then you should have a word with yourself but before you do check out their epic call to arms –

 

Here is the list of today’s announcements to accompany what has already been announced.  2020 is already shaping up to one hell of a Rebellion

BOUNCING SOULS
T.S.O.L.
DYS
D.I.
ADRENALIN O.D.
999
THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG
AUTHORITY ZERO
NEWTOWN NEUROTICS
ALTERNATIVE TV
MENACE
GOLDBLADE
SPLOGENESSABOUNDS
LOS FASTIDIOS
CHAOTIC DISCHORD
CRIM
GIMPFIST
HOBO JONES & THE JUNKYARD DOGS
FUNERAL DRESS
CONTROL
RISKEE AND THE RIDICULE
CALL ME MALCOLM
CRASHED OUT
EXTERNAL MENACE
ROUND EYE ( CHINA)
HEADSTICKS
LIINES
CRACKED ACTORS
LA INQUISICION
VIRUS
THE LONG GAME
DANGEROUS DAVE & THE SIDE EFFECTS
ALCOHOL LICKS
TERMINAL RAGE
AMBITION DEMOLITION
WHITE RIBBONS
CHAOS 8
HIP PRIESTS
SLOW FACTION
DESENSITISED
COMPLETE DYSFUNCTION

Tickets

Its August and this week sees us roll with our comprehensive Rebellion Festival round-up so why not run our twent choice cuts from our perspective.  We’d have listed the likes of Zero Zero and Rotten Foxes but they’re not on Spotify so we’ve gone with a solid old and new twenty plus.  Check em out there has to be something for every taste in there. Remember kids don’t just stream go out and watch these bands and buy their merch and music.  It keeps them making the music we love.

 

Where do I start? First time I came across Riskee and the Ridicule was when a link to a video appeared in my inbox, interesting Hmm, then an email from a cracking PR company we deal with and a simple do you fancy reviewing the LP? “Absolutely”! Said lp duly arrived in my inbox. But being a stream you lose a little bit. I’m sure most of us that review are a bit old school and streams in fairness have nowhere the power and intensity of a CD let alone the vinyl offering which opens the sound right up.

 

So after dragging in the different format and putting the  CD into the machine the first thing that hits me is the power and intensity of “Accelerate” what a fckin tune, fusing punk, hip hop and just a little bit of a grime edge, at times reminding me of  The Dead Formats, listen to the guitar sound wow!!

 

Next up the rant overlaying” KABOOM” is everything you look for in punk music the message ripping out from the speakers, like Akala on Crystal Meth!!! All the time, that intense guitar noise hitting you full on, you can’t help but smile. You can just see the venues exploding and the temperature rising and rising, this is as hot and sweaty as it gets!!

 

Nothing can maintain the intensity and we go all Wonk Unit like with Our time before the bars spit out and you’re up and bouncing around again, Christ this is a tasty LP. Then before we have time to breathe we’re into Body Bag your Scene pretty apt because this is crossing genres all over the place, tearing Hip Hop and Punk a new sound, Body bagging the scene indeed, killing it stone fckin dead in reality. This is probably my fave on the LP, there’s a little bit of Ice T’s Body- Count sitting within this one.

 

Next up Black White and Grey, has a hell of an act to follow and it just doesn’t bother it changes the feel there and then, picking at you, all the time that intensity holding back constantly threatening to explode not as in your face as its predecessor. In the dark we dwell again hints at something just a little bit different, putting drug use into perspective the story ripping out of the speakers, painting an inner city picture we all know too well.

 

Sellout really belongs on every body’s stereo, again painting a vivid picture of the state of the nation, and by now you need a rest, I can’t wait to catch these guys live promoting this LP.

 

Millwall Brick/Glasgow Kiss takes you right back in time to a time when proper geezers looked after their own, a terrace anthem in its own right.

 

Burning through Sex. Cut your teeth (another top tune) and for old times sake there really is no let up this is a blinding lp and before we know it we’re into D.I.Y closing the LP down

 

This is rapidly growing into one of my favourite new releases of the year!! A top tip for LP of the year, music just doesn’t get better.

Buy Body Bag Your Scene Here

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author: Nev Brooks

Riskee & The Ridicule play a highly politicised style of punk and hardcore, that mixes in elements of grime and hop hop for a refreshing sound. Kaboom!

Frontman Scott had this to say about ‘Kaboom!’ –

“Our song is about the blatant scare tactics used by the right-wing media to give the illusion of danger. This illusion creates the fear of being attacked, which naturally creates hostility. ‘We attack each other to the sound of their applause because their assets are safe if we’re coming for yours’.

We chose the word ‘Kaboom’ because of its use in comic books ‘to indicate a large explosion’.

Comic books can print what they like, and people know its fiction. Newspapers do the same and people take it as the truth.” Check it out here and look out for the new album coming next month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDGGdhYIkZc&feature=youtu.be

Given the current state of the world, anybody would be forgiven for being in a perpetual state of loss. There’s a tangible feeling of confusion, dismay and fracture on any street that leads to a preference for isolation or staring at our own private screens over physical interactions. However, what this often breeds is communities ready to ignite people with an energy to fight the malaise bred by injustice. Enter: Riskee and The Ridicule. A tour-de-force band of politics, protest and punk that practices what they preach and are spearheading such a charge. Growing up in Kent, the group had always been a staple of the UK DIY scene, but their fervent attitude and unique “Grime-Punk” rallied troops of dedicated fans across the world. This die-hard community, the seamless relationship between “artist” and “crowd”, is ever-expanding and the reason Riskee and The Ridicule have toured ruthlessly nationwide, across Europe, the USA and are now readying their third studio album, Body Bag Your Scene.

Musically, the band meld their genre-spanning influences with their intent to challenge preconceptions. On the surface they may appear easy to read, when in fact Scott Picking (Vocals), Jimbo Aglony (Guitars, Vocals), Jordan Mann (Guitars, Vocals) and Matt Verrell (Drums, Vocals) are a gang of progressive punks who form a powerhouse of change. Full of fierce energy, the Kent quartet have motives resting among The Clash with relentless streams of wit, literacy and observational accuracy akin to The Smiths and a background in the UK Grime scene.

 

Following their DIY releases Dawn Of The Dog and 2017’s Blame Culture, the band have now signed with Bomber Music to release their third studio album, Body Bag Your Scene on June 28th. It’s a record that acknowledges their position as a band and showcases both a personal and musical evolution, building upon the style of their previous two albums but with more detailed and textured approaches to songwriting. Structures are more complex and themes broach darker subjects such as drug addiction, consent and the tabloid media with denser, heavier music to match.

 

“There was no outside pressure for us to do the album, so we wrote and recorded whatever we wanted. It turns out that because of that freedom, Body Bag Your Scene is Riskee and The Ridicule at our peak and most brutal yet. There’s definitely a darker side of this album, but there’s just as much tongue-in-cheek wordplay too.”

 

Body Bag Your Scene was written and recorded at breakneck speed, a reflection of its reactionary nature to the daily uncertainty projected upon us. Taking aim at the powers that be (“Our Time”), sexual exploitation (“Sex”) and the barrage of contradictory news (“Black, White & Grey”) it’s a record that holds a mirror to the world with simultaneously acerbic and humourous analysis.

 

Their ever-growing community of fans are also as important as day one and they’re truly a DIY band for the people, by the people. The album was made with fans submitting to Riskee and The Ridicule’s own pledge campaign and saw them having a direct input and a piece of the release via credits, memorabilia and even private home shows. “As long as we are constantly evolving, progressing and learning then we are doing something right. We’re experimenting and releasing something people won’t have heard before. We put so much into this band and bettering ourselves because others, our fans, give their all to support us. Our fans really are our family and we want to give back to them as much as we can, in any way that we can.”

 

Establishing themselves as an unstoppable live band who are not to be missed, Riskee and The Ridicule are about to set fire to the touch paper and ignite a necessary attack on the current state of unease. Body Bag Your Scene is available on June 28th via Bomber Music.