Rift Wilson – Redemption (EP Review)

In an era of constantly changing music and genres, can revivalist acts that aim to revive old musical genres and movements truly live up to the cultural echelon of what they once perceived and loved? This question pops up in my head every single time I chance upon a new rock act, with rock in this context surely being an umbrella term. Can praise from former members of bands truly save an intent to revitalise aged music movements in these new times? This surely is an open question, as it works sometimes.

In today’s review, I will be analysing ‘Redemption’ by an artist named Rift Wilson. Redemption is a body of work that classifies as an EP, with four tracks disseminated single-style. It claims to be a blend of Hard Rock, Blues, Singer/Songwriter with Roots of Punk Rock. The album boasts feedback from David Abbruzzese, the drummer for Pearl Jam. With these genres, there usually is no room for error. If you gladly utilise these genres to the best of their ability, you can transcend the medium of your art. If you do not, you end up becoming a poor parody of what these genres truly entail. As someone who has an open repertoire of musical tastes, I do not judge music simply by its genre. However, if the standards of each individual genre does not match up to the product, subjectivity cannot save you.

I oscillate a lot in terms of my methodology and my thought process when it comes to rock music in this day and age. In my previous reviews, especially when executed right, a lot of revivalist rock acts pass the hypothetical test when it comes to proficiency. It’s a fine art where you have to straddle the line between sheer incompetence and actual aesthetics. Aesthetics in music tend to follow the triad of topics its associated to- the themes in the lyrics, the choice of artwork, and the choice of presentation. Sometimes, what seems to be bad aesthetically can be stylistically vindicated. However, with this particular body of work, I can’t seem to find any form of stylistic justification.

A breakdown of the EP:

The first song I have decided to review is ‘7 Miles to Sin’.

The song starts off fairly strong with the introductory riff. It has the generic, strong, punchy-and-punk influenced sound that I’ve heard oscillate within many sub-genres of rock. If you’re a new listener, the riff would have the ability to capture you… but not for long.

Your train of thought would surely be disrupted by the emergence of the drums in the song. I have no critique of the technique, or the notes that the drummer is playing. In fact, he holds a steady groove that oscillates into funk at some moments. However, the way this is EQ’ed, or mastered, is the biggest problem of this song. To be honest, this problem lingers within the rest of the EP. Music production is a different skill, and the missing puzzle piece besides songwriting, instrumentalism, and vocals. With acoustic, live productions, unless you deliberately want to sound like a low-quality recording on YouTube, it has to be EQ’d properly. The guitar and the drums are begging for acoustic dominance, without clear direction.

The guitar will definitely pull you back, though. It is decent and strong. However, the vocalist once again ruins the song for me. I understand the specifications for rock in terms of vocals. You don’t have to sound polished, clean, or pop-friendly. However, if you understand the specifications for rock vocals, and you still cannot satisfy the listener, then something is truly wrong. The vocalist goes between sounding extremely flat and sounding like a cat’s screech at certain instances. His vocals do not command enough power for the tone of the track.

The riff in the bridge of the song supported by the bass guitar is excellent, however. If the song had more of that it would be an enjoyable listen, but I’m not here to analyse how amazing the guitar sounds as an isolate track. The song as a homogenous entity is simply not pleasant.

The second track is titled ‘Croatoan’.

The track starts off innocently deceiving by how peppy the guitar riffs sound. It sounds inviting, once again. It sets the tone, once again, for a story to be told. An earnest story…

A story that is certainly about to be butchered by the main vocalist’s and the backup vocalist’s delivery.

The structure of the song has potential to be relatable and even good in terms of the framework of songwriting. It has all the feels of an early-2000s or mid-2000s soft rock ballad. Simply put, this would be better off as a demo for someone else or even as a reference point for a future bodice of work. However, the main vocalist completely ruins it and the backup vocalist, whom I assume consists of the main vocalist’s vocals layered, makes it even worse. It sounds like a cover on Smule.

I have a problem with the tempo of this song as well. It seems like the guitars and the vocals are not even operating on the same metronomic register. The drum is subtle, but noticeable. It has potential. The drummer is excellent in modifying aspects of drumming to different types and styles of tracks. The drum component of the song is passable, the guitar is slightly passable, the vocals are criminal. All together, this is horribly executed. The way ‘now you know’ is sung in the background vocals almost passes off as comedy, it truly is that poor.

The third track, ‘1889 Redemption’, is touted as one of the stars of the EP.

I have to admit, objectively, this song does have a good structure! It is intriguing, and has various tone changes and melody changes to excite and appease to the listener. I like the riff evolution in the introduction. The vocalist doesn’t seem to pose any poor vocal choices to this song. However, I suspect that it is because he sings in a ‘howl’ for most of the song. That seems to suit his vocal ability more than singing, inofitself. Once he switches to singing in his usual vocal manner, it starts to lose its charm. The howl mixed with the background vocals work much better.

This song is somehow EQ’d a bit better, however, I wish they’d work more on music production as well. That would definitely help to elevate the quality of the song.

It also boasts a very interesting melodic change in the middle of the song, almost going in a bebop-drum style while nostalgic guitar chords play in the background.

Towards the mark at 4 minutes and 32 seconds, the guitar riffs in this song reminds me of a lot of Guns ‘N’ Roses tracks. This song is the first song that I’d say authentically fits the boot of a decent hard rock song. The descending notes chosen together with the drums and the delayed triplets is pretty delectable together. In this song, the guitars and the drumming are in unison, and not at odds with each other.

Thus far, this is the only decent track on the EP. If they polished this track further, it would be a hit. As much as the previous songs were a let down, I have to give this track the flowers it deserves.

The last track of the EP is called ‘Seasons’.

The track starts off with a mélange of acoustic guitars. The slight twang it has gives it an almost magical feeling. I really like the instrumental for this track, as it is very sophisticated and if I had a vision to describe it, ‘gold’. It is gold and vibrant. It carries on the same groove throughout the track without too much changes, I hope it had more musical variability in the track.

However, like the first two tracks, the vocals ruins the songs for me. I understand the stylistic choice to be a little bit mellow, and hardened at the same time, but the vocalist simply goes out of tune at certain aspects of the song. The instrumental by itself would’ve been a better choice.

Another problem with the music production of the track emerges as the pads hitting the bass drum is almost as loud as the vocalist’s vocals. If the star of the show was the vocalist, the production and EQ of the track would not do this any justice. The guitars are beautiful, but the drums itself are once again, fighting for dominance instead of leading the way to melodic harmony.

At the end of the EP, I was quite dissatisfied with the entire EP. It comes off as a series of mismatches as well as demos, instead of actual polished songs. The main credited vocalist does not do most of the body of work any justice with his singing, and shines better as a guitar player. In terms of production, it has very poor production quality as well. If this was a typical folk field recording, I could stylistically excuse it, but being that it was produced in a studio, I simply can’t.

Another thing is the expected chord structure and songwriting content of most of these songs. I wish more rock revitalist acts in this day and age add something innovative or different to their repertoire. The idols in which they took for inspiration become ‘idols’ for being a trailblazer in their field, not a commodity. Similarly, to stand out, being different plays a huge role in your artistry. ‘Redemption’ is not really redeemable, in this aspect.

Rating/Mediocre – ‘Redemption’ is a body of work that simply does not match up to standard when it comes to rock music and in terms of general music production. It has the potential to be the framework for a better work of art, but a lot of work needs to be done in terms of the vocals and the music production. It has interesting features in terms of guitar playing and drumming but as a cohesive body of work, not good enough.

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