Customer Reviews

Invasion Usa

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First off: INVASION USA is a great album, better than anything you'll read about in Rolling Stone magazine or see on the front page of iTunes. The music is Ramones-style punk, full of pop hooks, oddball lyrics and rockin' beats. The songs are memorable, the sound is powerful and the playing is tight. If you don't wind up tapping your feet or bobbing your head to this album, go back to the pretentious art-drivel or washed-out "rock" of the mainstream pop scene.

If you really love this music, however, there are a few other albums that are slightly better: namely, the Riverdales' last 2 albums (1998's STORM THE STREETS and 2003's PHASE THREE.) Those albums are a little more varied than INVASION USA, in both tempo and song structure. All the songs on INVASION USA have a fast tempo, and while the songs are good, they all sort of blend in to each other (not "with", but "to".) Also, while Weasel's songs on INVASION USA are mostly excellent, Vapid's songs are mostly not as good as his songs on PHASE THREE or STORM THE STREETS.

Still, INVASION USA is a must-buy. If only more than 0.1% of the populace knew about the Riverdales...

It's a good feeling to have a solid contender for "Record of the Year" when you still have over five months of the year remaining. You can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that even if the rest of what you hear in 2009 is crap, you won't have to struggle for an answer if someone from the Grammys showed up on your doorstep needing your feedback.

The Riverdales have an unusual knack for improving with each release. While I enjoy each of their four records (seek them out if you haven't already heard them), the most recent has always been my favorite. Invasion USA is no exception, which is really something considering that I thought Phase 3 was pretty much note-for-note perfect. I've heard that they're already doing some preliminary work on their NEXT record, but I'm going to save my excitement for the one after that, as I already know it will be the better of the two. I'll still happily play all five of them, though.

But back to the record at hand: Invasion USA will make you bop your head while you laugh out loud. The tunes are clever, to the point, and they rock harder than anything you'll hear all year. Most of the songs are based on old MST3K episodes, so if you're a fan of that show, you'll have a lot to celebrate here. Standouts include "Gemini Man" and "Agent for H.A.R.M."

Simply put "The Riverdales Rock"!!!!!
Absolutely one of the greatest punk bands to ever exist.
Every song kicks ass!
A must for the Riverdales fan.
The Riverdales are in top notch form.
Exceeds all expectation.
A truly amazing cd.
Do yourself a favor and "GET THIS CD"!!!
"1234"!
Riverdale Stomp Baby
Let's GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Way to go Riverdales, for making a heck of an album this time around!

All the songs take their titles from various Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies and it makes for a super fun pop punk album.

Ben Foster had previously described the Riverdales as a "golden oldies" type of band and in all honesty, he's right. The music is very Ramonesy (would you expect any less from two former Screeching Weasel members?) but the melodies are very much of the surf pop, doo wop, pre-Beatles rock variety, and Ben and Dan have gotten VERY VERY good at it! My personal favorite is "Heart Out Of Season" a gorgeous song which in another time could've been a 50's radio hit.

But all around its a stunning album, with the exception of "Time Of The Apes" there's really not a bum song on the whole disc. So if you liked anything else the Riverdales have done, this one is right up there, if not better than their other albums.

I first heard of the Riverdales when I saw them open up for Green Day in the mid/late 90's. It rare that a opening act blows me away enough to be memorable afterward and make me seek out their music. Shortly after I had the first release on LP and listened to it to death. I wasn't as impressed with Storm the Streets, but Phase 3 was a good come back I thought but to me nothing ever topped their first release. This new could possibly have done that. It has that original sound like the first release and phase 3 had, but it flows better and has a more consistent sound and better quality songs than phase 3 did. I am reviewing this as one Riverdales fan to another, some new to the band might not like it or think its a 5 star worthy cd, but as far as Riverdales goes, for me this cd ties with the first release and might even pass it as my favorite as I listen to it more. Its a shame that they never tour (they were GREAT live) and never got their website going. They had a page up a few years back but it was always "coming soon".

Way to go Riverdales, for making a heck of an album this time around!

All the songs take their titles from various Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies and it makes for a super fun pop punk album.

Ben Foster had previously described the Riverdales as a "golden oldies" type of band and in all honesty, he's right. The music is very Ramonesy (would you expect any less from two former Screeching Weasel members?) but the melodies are very much of the surf pop, doo wop, pre-Beatles rock variety, and Ben and Dan have gotten VERY VERY good at it! My personal favorite is "Heart Out Of Season" a gorgeous song which in another time could've been a 50's radio hit.

But all around its a stunning album, with the exception of "Time Of The Apes" there's really not a bum song on the whole disc. So if you liked anything else the Riverdales have done, this one is right up there, if not better than their other albums.

Ben Weasel and Danny Vapid have created some great music over the years. This is not a part of that great catalog. This sounds like music created with inspiration not being the primary motive. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme simply doesn't work. Ben has said that neither he or Vapid had seen most of the movies they reference, and it shows. The Lillingtons did this much better. You could see a love for b-movies in their songs of a similar style, and they used simple chords and themes as a springboard to explore loneliness and unreturned love. It's a shame that the Riverdales couldn't have come up with SOME inspiration of their own for this release. You might end up giving this a few spins, but it certainly won't be remembered as a classic.