This snack of scratchy lo-fi indie-punk is a swooping splash of pop noise that will lift you up from the bottom of your boots. But don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean this is an adrenaline rush of breathless punk Rama Lama, like The Clash’s debut album. This is a slow burner of a song that in less than three minutes builds from guitar and voice to a Punk Spector wall of sound.
Red River Hog are a new band from Exeter that feature Worcester’s own multi-talented polymath (singer, songwriter, guitarist, novelist, comedy script writer – it’s true!) Peter Richard Adams as lead singer and frontman. Pete has been in many bands that ride the crashing wave of punk and roll and Red River Hog look set to follow in that vein.
Red River Hog‘s new single “Promise Not to Run” starts with rattling raggedy rhythm guitar and Pete’s distinctive heartfelt vocals. The band kick in behind the melody, the bass and drums drive the music forward and a trebly razor blade second guitar smashes out epic chords, the whole thing coming across like Pavement. The lyrics refer to cinema screens and the darkness that lies behind them and the whole thing seems confessional, expressing the stupid feelings that the singer thinks are worth concealing. About being shown your true face – you know, the one we all keep hidden and unseen. What is this? A love song? A break up song? About friendship? Or being in the social circle of celebrity? Well, the guitar’s adrenaline rush of distortion is certainly full of defiance.
All this swinging, scratchy, energised, music breaks down to just vocals and finger clicks before the band crash back in to roll us on a wave to the end. The song exuberantly builds and builds, on a big repeating chorus with two competing singalong melodies sung by massed choirs, either “Ba ba baa!” or “Hey Yo!” it’s your choice, the drummer loves pumping things up on his toms, tambourines crash in the reverb tunnel completing the impression of a Phil Spector Indie-Punk Wall of Sound Production ™. With these massed choir chants and exhilarating singalongs there’s plenty for the audience to join with at gigs, and this is going to sound brilliant live. I can already visualise it: how the song will break down and Pete will get one half of the crowd “Ba ba baa”-ing, and the other half “Hey Yo!”-ing in a swaying mass sing-off!
Find Red River Hog on Apple Music, the usual music streaming sites and lurking among the posts on Peter Richard Adams – Words and Music.
By: Eastside Jimmy