Album Review: RVIVR - The Beauty Between

For a certain section of the punk rock community, the short-lived Latterman are one of the most lauded bands of the last ten years. Thankfully ex-Latterman frontman Matt Canino has brought all the things that made his former band so legendary to his new outfit RVIVR. It's all here, the heart-on-sleeve songwriting, desperate delivery and slightly out-of-key yell-alongs. What makes RVIVR really stand out however is the dynamic created by the addition of dual vocalist and songwriter Erica Freas – here they're at their best when exploiting the male/female vocal dynamic on rockers like Wrong Way/One Way.

The Beauty Between opens with a classic four-on-the-floor thumping under duelling guitar riffs, building until the band explodes and Canino's familiar yell breaks in. It quickly descends into a complete shambles only to pick back up again with a soaring woah-oh-oh singalong. It's loose, chaotic and a hell of a lot of fun. They manage to keep the intensity throughout the 14-song effort, only slowing down a handful of times in an attempt to show-off their songwriting chops. Some slower numbers come off a little laboured, as does the hint at conceptual songwriting in the Hunger Suite I, II and III. RVIVR often walk a fine line between honest and cringe-inducingly honest, but for the most part they have the charm to make it work.

While The Beauty Between is not the most groundbreaking record, it's refreshing nonetheless. In a punk world where NoFX album number 700 and a Pennywise 'reunion' struggle to ignite interest in a disillusioned crowd, it's exciting to hear a record that reminds us what made this punk thing so attractive in the first place.