Album Review: Ride Your Bike - The Connection

I remember listening to Death Cab For Cutie for the first time, letting the touches of darkness seep through the soft rock and grasp my emotions out of me. Ride Your Bike provide a similar kind of chemistry with their new EP 'The Connection' as they offer a small set of indie-pop tracks.

'The Connection' is an emotional mid-tempo chord progression fitted with intertwining vocal lines that'll slowly grab you under the sweet sound of cellos. The verses don't crash into distorted guitars and the band make the most of the soft tones of their instruments to create some intelligent hooks and you'll most certainly have trouble getting that chorus out of your head. 'Spark' crosses into rockier Fountains Of Wayne-like territory. The guitars are crunchier, but they don't lose any of the smoothness of their arrangements.

'Coat Rack' may well be the stand-out track of the EP. Mike Getches proves the driving force behind this track that tries to hide its punk roots. It isn't as instantly memorable as 'The Connection' but it contains a driving chorus with the kind of sweet melodies and instrumental work that guided The Get Up Kids into the hearts of so many. Sadly, the second half of the EP is less impressive. 'Firefly' lacks real backbone and the charm of previous tracks and 'Bus', while perfectly fine in parts, doesn't have the instant qualities the others seem to have and ends up falling short.

The band close with 'Time We Took Those Chances', a track that starts off with soft acoustic guitar before breaking into staccato crunch, complete with their signature chorus style. Credit must be giving to the work put into the vocals as a whole, as they always manage to create an ethereal background as well as compelling lead vocal work. The sweet boy and girl storytelling elements of the song hide a darker heart that should please the Death Cab fans.

Ride Your Bike have very obvious qualities and they make the most out of them and while the second half slightly off-balances the rest, 'The Connection EP' is still a small package of indie-pop goodness that shouldn't be overlooked.

3.5/5

'The Connection' by Ride Your Bike is available now on Deep Elm Records.

Ride Your Bike on MySpace

James Berclaz-Lewis