Anthony Vito

“Coast To Coast” is the 2nd album release by Long Island’s Royal City Riot. It is released on Megalith Records.

Royal City Riot’s sound is rich with the staples of guitar, bass and drums alongside organ, saxophone, and trombone. Their sound draws from the influence of traditional ska with some modern influences. There’s very little punk influence. 9 of the 12 songs run longer than 3:30 so while the songs do feature enough hooks to get stuck in your head these are not pop songs in construction of the music or the lyrical content. Most of the songs are fairly deep.

The album begins with a Beatle’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band inspired introduction to upbeat “The Rhythm”. “I Need Your Touch” is probably the best song on the album. The song is very catchy and features excellent horn melodies and very well placed backing vocals. “Til’ I Die” is similar.

“Keep Your Head Up” begins very interestingly with the type of pops and crackles you’d hear on vinyl to set the mood. This song draws heavily from the Motown sound. The chorus is very well done with heavy accent beats and really has a positive message. When life gets tough you should keep your head up high. “Nobody Knows” is next and is followed by “Longing For You” which starts as a very slow ballad before picking up the pace. There’s a country feel to the song because of the steel guitar. The chorus is very well crafted like many of the other songs.

The original instrumental “Captree Ska” kicks off the second half of the album and is followed by “Myrtle Avenue” and “Sweet Maria”. Neither is a bad song, but they don’t have the hooks of the earlier material.

“Fire” is a very well done up beat pop song with an excellent beat and nice backing vocals. “I Should’ve Known Better” again shows the bands chops alongside some excellent song writing and a very memorable chorus. The steel guitar is back for the soulful “Coast To Coast” which brings the album to a close.

Grade: 4.25 / 5 stars

I recommend this release very highly. The craftsmanship in the music is superb.
They remind me a lot of Westbound Train with maybe a little more pace to the songs.
- DThrog Ska Review

Writing an effective rock song isn't rocket science. Take a solid melody, a catchy hook, throw in some calculated, buzzing guitars and a few tidy drum fills and you're usually 90 percent of the way home-the remaining 10 percent is left for any wild cards or unique flashes. The ratios of a lot of bands are askew, resulting in plenty of unmemorable or unlistenable ideas that dilute the final product, regardless of musician intent; one quick perusal of Bandcamp or Facebook confirms this hypothesis. Keep it simple, stupid.

On the Joyride EP, Broadcaster show quite the aptitude and appreciation for the formula. They're a power trio (as many great rock bands are; think about it) and like a lot of power trios, they're able to take what might be perceived as an inherent disadvantage and make it work. Less is truly more in this case, as opener "Snow Party" succeeds on the strength of its infectious chorus, highlighted by the well-placed "whoa"s of vocalist Jesse Litwa. "All Your Friends" pulls in the reins just a bit; the guitars twinkle a little more and the chorus is primarily instrumental, but the band remain firmly within their element.

The mid-tempo plod of "Atlantic Sea" is almost reminiscent of latter-era Thermals in its simplicity and calculation; even Litwa's inflections sound similar to those of Hutch Harris at certain points. The drums becoming more cymbal-heavy as the song progresses is a nice, subtle touch as well. Joyride closes in much the same way it began, with "Vacation Days" leaning heavily on its huge chorus.

Also of note is this EP's production. Tom Kelly's basslines are quite high in the mix, giving these songs a thicker, fuller sound than one might expect from a three-piece. The band produced Joyride themselves and with one listen, it's easy to hear why. Highly recommended. - Punknews.org