If the name Chris Carrabba means anything at all to you, I suggest you stop reading right now, head on over to Deep Elm and just buy this record flat out. It’s only $9.99 and you’ll love it, trust me. And don’t forget to vote for Desoto Jones on your way in — they need your help to win Virtual MTV’s (wtf??) Battle of the Bands 2.
Now that the coast is clear…
Ride Your Bike and their debut album Bad News From The Bar are collectively little more than a blip on the trend-o-meter. With redeeming qualities being few and far between, and absolutely nothing even remotely original about it sound wise, Bad News From The Bar will, in all likelihood, begin to accumulate dust before long and ultimately wind up forgotten. But maybe I’m being a little harsh. There’s defniitely an audience for Mike Getches’ brand of s(n)appy indie pop, and I can see how an album like this would generate some new found attention for Deep Elm. Whether this is representative of a future incarnation of the label remains to be seen.
Criticisms aside, Getches deserves some praise. His voice, complete with its high-pitched dorkiness, is one that will grow on you if you allow it to. Despite my best efforts, vocals from “This Car is Hot as Hell” stuck in my head for longer than I would have liked. Considering my overall distaste for the album, that’s an accomplishment worth noting.
Who knows — maybe in a couple of years when Emo Diaries Chapter Fourteen: We’re Fresh Out of Ideas so We’re Just Gonna Milk It comes out, Ride Your Bike will have their place in history after all. Or at the very least, heavy rotation in the after school dance circuit — nestled snugly between “Hey There Delilah” and Panic At The Disco.
Fortunately, there’s a moral to be had from all of this: save the environment – ride your bike.
Genre: Indie/Pop
RIYL: Plain White T’s, Dashboard Confessional, etc.
Label: Deep Elm
Sticks And Stones
