Reviewed on 14th February 2004.

Ridgevex

Live at The Vine on Thursday, 12th February 2004

It should be said upfront that emo, or post-hardcore, or any style of rock that may come close to verging on those descriptions is not usually my forte. That is, I don't sit at home listening to it all day and I won't be your typical gig fare. Although, saying that, I impress easily when I catch such a band live as the guitar work can be fascinating - I find there's usually two or more at play together - and the melodies they produce are ordinarily quite infectious. Watching the drummer can be captivating too, and the vocals can range from pretty, tuneful, affecting and blissful to dirty, loud, incoherent and screaming. And I always did wonder how people screamed, at times throat-rippingly so, in tune. Local four-piece Ridgevex impress me. They may look slightly odd, with guitars up above waist level, but they rarely keep still for long enough to catch a glimpse of something so trivial. On more than one occasion the main vocalist nearly decapitates his fellow guitarist; and his colleague often comes close to sending the precariously balanced pint glass flying from the nearby amps. Three of my more knowledgeable colleagues tell me that Ridgevex sound like The Lucida Console. I disagree albeit I concur there are similarities. Ridgevex sound punchier, and forgive me if I use the term vaguely, they are also rockier. Perhaps my opinion is clouded by the clarity in the sound tonight, especially with the pounding drums, so whereas my memory tells me that the Console can appear tuneful at times, Ridgevex have hit me squarely in the face. It'd be good if we were all right, but if not, take from this that they sound like The Lucida Console. And with the undoubted quality of their aforementioned peers, for Ridgevex that comparison can be no bad thing.