A new full-length album from Riverside Odds brings on a gritty rock punch to the gut with tons of attitude, punk undertones, and a thrashing good time.
The Punching Above Our Weight album is a blast from start to finish with a unique and super vibrant energy that becomes insanely infectious from the get-go.
This album is completely driving and lets the band just shine with loads of character and swagger of their own and that doesn't just mean vocally either.
This record makes you want to see these guys perform live just because of the energy that they have. You know it's going to be an absolute killer show if they have even half the energy they do on the record.
The best part is this record almost feels live on the floor itself. It's like the players are all feeding off of each other's energies in the songs just get crazy right.
Now with all great rock records, there is plenty of guitar solo action happening across the span of the album and it's all got soul and shreds with a pristine delivery.
The drumming is ground-shaking and the band as a unit is incredibly tight as they deliver these super catchy choruses that make you want to put your fists in the air and chant along.
It's just been a minute since you've heard a real-deal rock record with this much love for the craft.
These guys definitely have a major love for their craft and that's in completely evident with every no played.
These guys have that magic that you remember from bands like Kiss or Motorhead.
All the sweet spots are hit all the boxes are checked and it all comes through with a ton of badassery.
Now, I know what you're thinking. That's saying a lot. You also might be saying badassery is not a word well guess what it is now and if you don't believe what I'm saying then play this damn record.
And when you do play the record play it loud the way it was meant to be played. Not at a 2 on the volume knob, at a 10 on the volume knob.
You'll be addicted by the third track in.
Plus, there are all kinds of crazy surprises like outlandish backing vocals that you really didn't expect built from duet rock bangers that melt your face.
I'm happy to report that this album is absolutely endlessly fun from start to finish and with its release we had to have a talk with the band just to see where all this comes from.
You just have to know where their influences are drawn from after hearing something like this.
So, we talked to them and here's what happened.
Buzz Slayers: Okay guys, let's start with the "Punching Above Our Weight" album. This record had a massive feel and was driving rock at its purest! How did this album come about?
The majority of the album was written during the pandemic, and so the way we had to go about writing was completely different from anything we’ve done before. We would typically bring a riff or a progression to rehearsal and work on it together. Since we couldn’t get together at all we each used what basic home recording equipment we had or could get, and we would piece things together first in GarageBand with programmed drums. We then sent the files to Jorge Disguster of The Hangmen, who recorded drums on the album with us and he would put down basic drums for each. After that we sent these rough demos to Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers who produced and played bass on the album. Once we were able to travel and everyone’s schedules allowed, we flew first to San Diego to work for a week on pre-production and rehearsals with Eddie and Jorge, and the next week we drove to LA and spent an entire next week recording.
Buzz Slayers: How did this all start for you guys as a band?
The band formed in January of 2013 so we just hit our 10yr anniversary this year. Our original bassist Tim and RW were in a previous band together called Griswolds that had recently disbanded and Matty and our first drummer, Tommy were from the band The Von Horrorbles which had also split up, so we had bass and vocals from one band, guitar and drums from another!
Buzz Slayers: What kind of things really inspire songs for you?
We try to grab inspiration from as many places as possible, some are about love and loss, some passion and anxiety, and some are just about professional wrestling and partying. We try to write in ways that will appeal to a broad audience of people and in songs that aren’t blatantly obvious, allow people to make their own interpretations.
Buzz Slayers: This album has some great styles combinations on it! Can you give us some of your biggest influences musically?
Matt: I got into the blues early on, Muddy Waters and Billy Gibbons were both big influences… 80’s rebellious rock… and of course The Ramones.
RW: I started out more of a metal kid. I was mostly into Slayer, Motörhead and Anthrax but it was White Zombie that probably influenced me most.
Buzz Slayers: What are you all doing when you're NOT working on music?
RW: my wife and I do a lot of camping and hiking together, and I’m actively playing in a few different D&D campaigns. I’m also a huge professional wrestling fan
Matty: I’m a big record collector and do a lot of woodworking in my spare time.
Buzz Slayers: Who's in all your headphones right now?
Matty: Right now Deathtraps ‘Stole Your Rock & Roll’, ‘Metal Marty’s Greatest Hits’ by Metal Marty of Supersuckers and Turbo ACs ‘Live to Win’ are all in heavy rotation.
RW: For me, it’s been The Rumours - ‘Suck It’, Danko Jones ‘A Rock Supreme’ and the Drowns ‘Lunatics’.
Buzz Slayers: Are you guys doing any live performances right now?
Oh yeah! Right now we are in the middle of a 3 week east coast tour with our friends The Cheats from Pittsburg. We started in PA on 3/2 and headed down to Florida on 3/12 then wrapping up in Ohio on the 18th.
After that we have a few shows with Hood Rats from Montreal, and a handful of shows in April with Zombii from Connecticut, which will officially wrap up our spring tour back in Pennsylvania.
Buzz Slayers: Did you record this yourself or hit a big studio for this?
Oh, we went all in on this one. We recorded the whole album at Studio 64 in LA by Tyler Karmen in November of 2021, then mixed and mastered a few months later at Sweetcreek Studios by John Fachet who had recorded our previous albums as well.
Buzz Slayers: What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
Right now we are booking June through August dates and eyeballing where we want to tour in the fall. We are going to focus on as much touring this and next year as possible before really focusing on writing anything else new. We weren’t able to tour in support of the last album due to band member changes and the pandemic so we are just going to focus on bringing this runaway rock & roll train to as many stations as we can!
Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
We wanna thank everyone that has been with us on this rock n roll journey, whether it was from day one or just a day ago, and especially to all the fans that wear our merch proudly and tell their friends about us too!