Detroit rockers Cascade Riot dish out a melodic form of music, mixing together moments of indie rock, punk rock and alt-rock into one amazing package. I heard their EP, Life on Venus, quite by chance, and found myself loving it after the very first listen. Hopefully you will do too!
By Jane Howkins
Opening the record in fantastic style is P.N.C, emerging with a huge burst of energy and some killer guitar licks. I actually found myself reminded a little of early Green Day, which is certainly a compliment indeed! The riffs are fast, keeping up with the fast tempo of the tune perfectly, as the vocals add a slightly more melodic touch over the top. It’s a fantastic opener for sure!
Cobwebs is up next – it starts out a little mellower on the verses, before the dynamics change, building up a palm-muted guitar riff into the chorus mega chorus. The chorus has that singalong style that a lot of legendary pop-punk bands have instigated within their music, sounding incredibly anthemic throughout. However, it’s still fairly heavy, despite the catchy nature of the tune!
Chasing Stars is another rocker, but the chords chosen and lyrical content make it sound like a pop-punk ballad, tugging at the heartstrings throughout. The vocals have a soulful clarity, spat out with passion, really making you feel everything being sung about in the lyrics. It’s still fairly upbeat in terms of sound and tone though, making for a proper belter of a tune!
I Don’t Wanna Fall Asleep starts out with some impressive riffs, matched by the prominent bassline in the background. It’s one of the heavier songs on the record, except the main vocal melody is incredibly hooky, getting stuck inside your head on the first listen. The palm-muted build-up to the final chorus is epic, making this my favourite track on the EP.
The track Wall is proper old school skate punk, with a frantic beat and riffs to match. It’s a track that really shows off Cascade Riot’s talents as a band, with some really cool guitar work going on here. This is another must listen song from me!
Life on Venus is a fantastic record, setting Cascade Riot up as a punk band to watch – I really do predict big things for these guys!
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