The Rifles release their first studio album in eight years today. ‘Love Thy Neighbour’, Despite countless tours, festivals, and re-releases, the band’s life commitments to work and family have hindered their creative process.
Image & artwork courtesy of Fear PR.
In 2023, frontman Joel Stoker ventured into new sonic territories with his debut solo album, 'The Undertow ', recorded at his Right Hook Studios in Walthamstow. The album's free-spirited sound was mirrored in Stoker's lyrical exploration of mental anguish, marking a significant evolution in his musical style.
Early B-side ‘Rock the Boat’ became a firm live favourite in the intervening eight years. The ska-tinged guitars and Stoker’s vocals unite with crowds in a hymnal mood. Its opening stansa oozes through large sections of this album. ‘Mr Sunflower’ saunters with Madness keys and vocals in carnival mode. Its message of love your neighbour does not come to expect from their intensity but is a perfect fit. Time away as a band and getting older suits them.
‘Days of our Lives’ continues the effervescent spirit. Taking a Sham 69 reference and making it sound like a Rifles and George Harrison concoction is joyous. Deano Mumford’s keys and the acoustic lean into Bob Marey and Ocean Colour Scene before Luke Crowther steam rollers the closing stages with howling guitars and Grant Marsh’s drum fills, planting you firmly into the band's happy place.
The archetypal Rifles sound emerges with clarity alongside their new deft touch on ‘Starting Monday’, ‘The Kids Won’t Stop’, and ‘Out For The Weekend’. With its military drums and yearning to be more, the former takes classics like ‘Heebie Jeebies’ and turns them into prophecies for their middle age. Similarly, ‘The Kids Won’t Stop’ examines parenthood and day job relentlessness versus their youthful days of dreaming and chaos. As Marsh’s drums rumble, the ecstatic furore of ‘No Love Lost’ rears its head but, this time, with a humorous take on being a parent rather than tear-ups in East London. ‘Out For the Weekend’ blows away the responsibilities and leans into the boozy male bonding that has made them such a must-see live act for twenty years. Crowther’s licks, razor-sharp, beg you to put on your best threads and let the middle-aged spread rumble once more.
On tracks like ‘All Aboard’ and ‘Money Go Round,’ The Rifles venture into uncharted musical territories. ‘All Aboard' infuses the sweeping majesty of their album ‘Freedom Run’ with jagged edges and the folk and roots elements that their peers, The Coral, excelled in during the 00s. ‘Money Go Round’ takes on a Small Faces-esque groove before transitioning into a Beatles-worthy melody. Luke Crowther's psychedelic folk guitars draw inspiration from latter-day Weller and Cornershop, giving the band a fresh makeover and potentially, a new musical direction.
They say abstinence makes the heart fonder, well, for The Rifles as a writing new music band, it has. The album is steeped in the kind of love and hope George Harrison would look upon fondly. It marks a new era for the band. The need to produce chaos has faded into wry takes on that era, and their most mainstream rock classic sound to date. Let’s hope it’s not another eight years.