A return to the glory days...
Give a box of chocolates to a weeping lady and she's happy. Give a pig some shit to roll in and he's happy. Give a punk rock-hearted individual The Reveling's latest record Tributaries to listen to, they should be very happy indeed. Remember how good Green Day used to sound when you were still wearing baggy jeans and trying to skateboard? Well, this is a very welcome revisit to that grand era of one of music's most blessed genres. This isn't bias. This is appreciation for mouth-watering riffs and maniacal drum beats. Come with us.
It's high speed and it'll make sitting still feel like a chore as it comes punching and kicking at you with all the impudence of a difficult child. Bearing the energy of a garage rock sound, Tributaries is lent a great deal of weight by the rattling melodic growl of Sean Morris' vocals. Stamping his presence over every inch of opener Revival, you come to realise that this will be a record akin to the lyrical brawn of Crazy Arm as much as the boyish energy of a young Billie Joe Armstrong. As much as there can be moments of pure Green Day homage in the rhythm sections (Left At Forkright) or unmistakeably Alkaline Trio influenced uses of tempo and spiky guitar (Charlotte Thompson) The Reveling are still sure to carve out their own identity in this album.
As much as their love for music may be rooted in the classic punk days of old (it was halfway through Unglued that a fleeting likeness to Saves The Day suddenly dawned in something of a true relief-inducing 'EUREKA!' moment,) this record certainly has a place on everyone's current playlist. The Reveling would easily fall in rank alongside your Brian Fallons and your Tim McIlraths in the current balls-out invasion of hard-hitting, fist pumping rock n' roll (in the least crude sense of the phrase.) If Tributaries is just the beginning, we're really looking forward to seeing where this journey leads.