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Album Details

• Artist: The Rifles
• Album: Great Escape
• Label: 679
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: Mike Wood on 2009-11-10
• Viewed: 177 times

British 80s power pop lives! You can easily be mistaken into believing that The Rifles' "Great Escape" is some arcane reissue from 1987. Yet this band has only been around for about three years; they have absorbed far more choice rock cuts than their years would suggest.  Herein are gleefully sharp riffs and slightly snotty vocals that imply that the band secretly wants to save the world and thinks they can do it in a three minute song. There are moments in each of these songs, all of them, when you just might believe them.

Seemingly without effort, the Rifles spit out anthemic, biting tracks that elate you with emlody while sobering you up with gritty lyrics. "Science in Violence," "Tor Rag," "History" and the title track all could be entries from the songbooks of Strummer, Weller, McManus, and would be on any best of by Oasis, Blur, etc. The Rifles are the real deal.

"Great Escape" is retro also in the fact that it will be a hit record that real music fans will not be embarrassed to own. This will sound great on the radio. The Rifles, hopefully, will not fade away into obscurity or bloated caricature, as most Brit bands of the last 20 years have. They have the attitude and the heart to keep that reaper at bay.

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