Ribbons

Ribbons are from the borough of Brooklyn. In recent years, that hasn't been a cause for much celebration from this asshole, but they do up the 'Heath Band' factor a bit. Said Heath helps the band out and (I believe) hooked the kids up with the production team of Josh Loar and Anna Ehl to engineer Surprise Attacks. Good ears plus good band and good recording normally make for good records. The planets seem to have aligned to make this the case once more.

I have very little (read: none) affection for the bumper crop of new-school deconstructionist combos that have sprung up in the White Stripes' snail trail. Do the math: Matt and Kim are truly excrable, as are Mates Of State, and Black Keys need a bass player. White Stripes get minor props for allowing a woman with Down's Syndrome to get behind the kit, but none of these combos lend any credence to the idea that less is more. Ribbons continue the the recessive trend by plying their trade in the form of the trendy guitar/drums duo, but have the good taste to arrange their songs properly so as not to stink up the joint.

As it revolves around job duties on the good ship Ribbons, Sam Roudman handles the traps while Jenny Logan slings strings and sings. I hear a lot of Siouxsie in the vocals and a general Joy Division vibe all-around on Surprise Attacks. The female vocals are a nice change of pace, and do well in keeping silly Ian Curtis vocals out of the fray. Thanks to the pagan gods for that! The higher register is infinitely more pleasant, and more practically saves them from being eaten up by Roudman and his relentless pummelling of the drum kit. Pummel is by no means an understatement. I'm not sure what that drum kit did to Sam, but rest assured that it's paying the price.

While he beats the ever living hell out of that kit all over Surprise Attacks, the drums are never obtrusive. Logan does a great job of filling up the extra space with alternately atmospheric and jagged guitar and actual singing. She gets points for neither screeching and howling nor going all American Idol on the mike. It would be nice if other **ahem** vocalists (of either gender) would jump on that bandwagon.

Surprise Attacks is hooky without being poppy and interesting without being pretentious. That's a remarkable eventuality in this day and age, especially in a band coming from NYC. There are MP3s here and you can download the record from Amazon, Napster and I would venture I-tunes. I got a hard copy of Surprise Attacks through Team Ribbons and I can only assume you can buy it at shows. Luckily for your ear and eye holes, they play this Friday (8/22) at Hank's Saloon and Monday (8/25) at ex-galapagos. Both shows are in Brooklyn. Check the link below for more info.

xo
R


www.myspace.com/ribbonsnyc

See original Review at:
http://jadedscenesternyc.blogspot.com/2008/08/ribbons-surprise-attacks.html - Jaded Scenester

Ribbons is a 2-piece from New York that maybe you'll want to call a post-punk version of THE RAVEONETTES if CHRISSY HYNDE was on vocals.

See original review at:
http://cjam-music.blogspot.com/2008/06/88-keys-adams-case-files-up-and-coming.html - CJAM Music Review

Top-selling albums for the week ending October 8th, 2008 at Other Music, New York.

1. TV on the Radio
Dear Science - DGC/Interscope

2. High Places
High Places - Thrill Jockey

3. Vivian Girls
Vivian Girls - In the Red

4. Dungen
4 - Kemado

5. The Ribbons
Surprise Attacks - Electric Lights Music

6. Yo La Tengo
They Shoot, We Score - Egon

7. Group Inerane
Guitars From Agadez: Music of Niger [Live]

8. Calexico
Carried to Dust - Quarterstick

9. Santogold and Diplo
Top Ranking - Mad Decent

10. Blue Ash
No More No Less - Collector's Choice - Rolling Stone Issue 1064 (10/30/08)

Ribbons are a duo of Brooklyn transplants from California who come forth with one of the most promising rock debuts I've heard in a long while. Consisting of vocalist/guitarist/bassist Jenny Logan and drummer/backing vocalist Sam Roudman, they deliver the raw, stripped intensity of early Factory Records stalwarts like the Durutti Column and Joy Division while harnessing the propulsion, angularity, and energy of a group like Josef K. Though this sound has most certainly been reexamined by plenty of bands, it's refreshing to hear Logan's distinctly female take on what has always been a male-dominated style, both vocally and instrumentally. Roudman ends up being the secret weapon, though, keeping things interesting with his wild, propulsive, Keith Moon-meets-Stephen Morris style, while his roots playing in metal bands definitely shine through in his double-time bass drum attacks and odd, wailing vocal harmonies. Over the course of 35 minutes, the group play through variations on a theme, keeping the intensity high and the tension taut throughout. These two are worth keeping an eye on -- definitely recommended! [IQ] - Other Music

Sam Farzin, KUCI Music Director--
Former singer of My Teenage Stride teams up with drummer dude and makes dark-pop album. Gems abounddd.

http://www.kuci.uci.edu/show_feature.cgi?id=780 - KUCI 88.9 FM Irvine