With a change of producer, Catherine Marks has worked with modern-day icons such as Paramore and Boygenius. Yet the overblown, tinny production of Ricochet mixed with only vaguely politically charged lyrical content hardly makes for an enjoyable listening experience. When compared to its predecessors that deliver biting political commentary in their discography, such as Siren Song of the Counter-Culture and The Sufferer and the Witness, it’s hard not to feel disappointed with their new release.
Their attempt to land the interesting production and the PA system-esque distortion ‘Nod’ certainly does leave an impression on the listener, but the impression is depressingly mediocre. Although Tim McIlrath’s vocal delivery and range is impressive for a twenty-five plus year career, it doesn’t leave much of a lasting impact and musically comes across very much like a forgettable Foo Fighters b-side at best. Even then, that’s being extremely generous.
‘I Want It All’ ventures into a garage-rock orientated sound which is more reminiscent of The Hives than Millencolin, but the distorted vocal effect added yet again fails to add any character to the track. If anything, it’s a further distraction from the rest of the record’s lacklustre material and ends up sounding like the type of song you’d hear in a car commercial circa 2012.
“The overblown, tinny production mixed with vaguely politically charged lyrical content hardly makes for an enjoyable listening experience.”
However, ‘Black Crown’ is a more admirable effort from the Chicago quartet with sweeping, fuzzy guitars that capture your attention during the intro and is a rare glimmer of hope among this dull and uninspiring listen. The triumphant rhythm guitar line, and featured vocalist Jennifer Decilveo deliver a certain level of earnestness that is sadly missing from 90% of Ricochet and is some well-needed respite. Rise Against also make further attempts at returning to form on both ‘Sink Like a Stone’ and ‘Loma Vista’, and although the lyrical content is thought-provoking, this aluminium mix over the guitars and McIlrath’s static vocals that are somewhat robotic in places feel derivative at best, and borderline offensive at worst.
Final track ‘Prizefighter’ has a clear message of not conforming to societal expectations, but the vocal delivery is more teenage-angst than punk rage. Yet it’s still one of the standout tracks from this bafflingly unpleasant release, courtesy of the charismatic drums and the memorable chorus-regardless of how cheesy and cliché the lyrical content may be.
Furthermore, Ricochet is nothing short of disappointing despite McIlrath still proving that he has the pipes and the vocal potential to create a powerful record, but surely many would agree that Rise Against’s latest endeavour is their weakest album. However, with their live shows still bringing in thousands of people worldwide and their back catalogue still being many young people’s gateway into punk and hardcore music, things can only get better from the less-than-stellar Ricochet. Despite this colossal setback, the only way is up for Rise Against and surely things can’t get any worse, right?