REVIEW : RNDM's Ghost Riding - Gigslutz.co.uk
4 stars of 5 !!
After 13 years of mutual affection RNDM finally got in the studio and released their debut in 2012, and 4 years later comes an album that makes a mockery of the feared second album cliché.
With a founding member of Pearl Jam in their ranks and the record released by the brilliantly influential Dine Alone, this is a collective immersed in alt-rock history.
Like the entire album, title track ‘Ghost Riding’ contains a groove that is immediately infectious and singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur delivers an at-times intense vocal performance. These are three established artists who have enough credit to get creative, but not self serving, and the result is a set of tracks that sound effortless but still so complete.
For those getting Pearl Jam or Seattle alarm bells, settle down, this is more likely to get filed next to Everything Everything. ‘Got To Survive’ has the sound of a summer top down anthem, and ‘Stray’ has a very Brit-indie feel to it.
Throughout the album, which is wonderfully knitted together, the strength of pairing the harmonious rhythm section with beautifully written paired lyrics is consistent. As you may expect from so many years of experience and influence the range of styles is broad, but shrewdly this serves to make the album more inclusive rather than dividing.
It seems unlikely that we will get to hear the melodious ‘NYC Freaks’ or more anthemic ‘Trouble’, which is unfortunate as it would lend itself nicely to the live scene.
In 2016 there isn’t a lot that sounds like RNDM, but if you can live with a record that sounds vibrant, contemporary and ridiculously proficient then you might just love it.
Ghost Riding is out now via Dine Alone Records.
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