The Riptides - Hang Out (2006) RESTORED

Canadian punk rockers the Riptides hail from Ottawa, Ontario, forming in the mid-'90s with an aggressive pop sound that nodded to the Queers and Ramones as much as it did the Dwarves and Meatmen. Their first record was issued in late 1997, and the guys released five full-lengths and appeared on various compilations over the next nine years, though most of their early records currently is out of print…


The Riptides became a fixture in the Canadian underground, spreading their name on tours with acts like the Methadones, Dwarves, and Moral Crux. They eventually found label homes over at Union 2112 (Canada) and Red Scare (U.S.) to release their November 2006 album, Hang Out, produced by Mass Giorgini (Rise Against, Anti-Flag, Screeching Weasel, etc.), and he has 'em sounding better than ever. These guys are dialed in, and they even got Joe Queer to show up and sing lead vocals on the song "China Doll". By that point, the band's lineup included the brothers Vandal and Goblin alongside drummer Pat Bitch (of The PG-13s) and guitarist Skottie Lobotomy (of The Creeps), and the quartet headed out in early 2007 on a North American tour with the Queers.

The Riptides represent a class of band that's necessary to the overall health of the punk rock organism. Their peers may be numerous and quite similar at times, but they'll never be redundant. They're charming and likable but they'll never make celebrities of their members. Their records will be met warmly when they arrive, but they'll never be events. This type of band is vitally important for clearing out the toxins and impurities that build up in the genre. They're white blood cells, if you will.

Hang Out launches with "That Girl", which immediately sets expectations for a Screeching Weasel pattered album. Yet the next track betrays that. "88 MPA / Unfortunate Son" is speedy street punk, similar in attitude to those greasers in the Turbo AC's or the Angel City Outcasts. This establishes the band's greatest asset, a dichotomy between juvenile, idealized teenage pop-punk like "Detention" and rough hewn pit-ready street anthems like "Red Dawn". Speaking of the latter, it completely rages, building up to an impossibly mighty call-and-response chorus. It's nearly ridiculous, and it would be in the hands of some one-note Exploited clone, but the Riptides are too smart and chase it with the self-depreciating Ramones-styled "Bonehead". It's those pairs that make this so enjoyable. Witness the sweet surf-punk of "China Doll" slated alongside the blunt-to-perfection "I Wanna Riot". I almost don't want to hear these songs on their own, the arrangement is so important. Andy Vandal can be Joe Queer one song and Al Barr in the next.

Could anyone have produced this but Mass Giorgini? Are there any more like-minded labelmates than Teenage Bottlerocket and the Lillingtons? I love that this band's positioned exactly where they should be and there's no questioning their intentions. They've set out to be nothing more and nothing less than a fun punk rock act and they've made it look effortless while keeping it vital.

~ Review by Adam, punknews.org

Tracklist:

01. That Girl
02. 88 MPA / Unfortunate Son
03. Detention
04. Conviction
05. Red Dawn
06. Bonehead
07. Change Gonna Come
08. Heartbreaker
09. I Wanna Riot
10. China Doll
11. The Girl Next Door
12. Subway Surfin' 2

all songs written by Bob Goblin & Andy Vandal


Produced, Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Mass Giorgini
at Sonic Iguana Studios, Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A.

• Andy Vandal - vocals
• Bob Goblin - bass, lead vocals on "9"
• Scottie Lobotomy - guitar
• Pat Bitch - drums

additional musicians:
- Doug Vermin - guitar (4,5,9)
- Pat McManus - guitar (4,5,9)
- Flav Giorgini - guitar (2,3)
- Mass Giorgini - bass (7), organ (12)
- Joe Queer - lead vocals (10)

Release Date: November 7, 2006
Label: Red Scare Industries
Catalog No.: CCCP 111-2