Residue - Iraquet
March Reviews - Punk & Oi In The UK
3 tracks of hardcore sounding music with possibly a touch of discharge - fast and hard. I think they would go down well at the picnics and you can check them out at http://comitted.to/residue. . Steff
Residue - Hope & Fade EP CD
Maximumrocknroll #238, March 2003
RESIDUE reminds Paul of SICK PLEASURE,
the similarities being it's young,snotty, and dirgy.
It's definitely in the family of mean Bay Area bands of the 1980's.
There's nothing poppy about this.
Residue - Iraquet
AUBL Review-JJ 10EW
Honestly? Well, I thought the last Residue CD was very poor.
I failed to see what all the hype was about, and tried many times to get in to the music. Although I like what the band is trying to do, in the last CD they sounded like they just didn’t know how to play it. As though they were covering songs that might be good, but now sound loose, disjointed and ultimately like a large fish being struck against bin repeatedly. When I saw them playing live, the band looked strangely amateurish and were very boring. I give every band the chance to redeem themselves however, and now it is Residues turn to appease me.
Iraquet – the new single. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this. Upon listening to the intro I feared that it would be another piece of music I was doomed to dislike. The drums sound in places, as though the person behind them, who is called John incidentally, has not played drums for a long time. Well, only for the intro, because they quickly improve and this song becomes really, really very good. My opinion of Residue has almost instantly changed completely. The thing is, I can’t help but feel that the band has not considered its politics correctly. The lyrics speak of “Trigger Happy George” and how he decides he is “feeling bored” and that the way to cure his boredom is by having a war. Isn’t that a slightly ignorant comment to make? I’m not sure this man, however obviously stupid he is, decides to kill people because he is “bored”. A reference to the oil Bush is after would help, but the only justification that I can find in the lyrics is his “retaliation to the towers”. Perhaps there is just a difference in Residues political opinion to my own. Or perhaps they haven’t thought through their opinion properly, or perhaps (God forbid) I am wrong. None the less, the music is angry, deep and adrenaline flowing. The hugely powerful chorus, with great lyrics, is such a massive improvement over anything else the band has done before, that I for one, am very impressed. I like the guitar sound a lot, and also Dave Rowlands’ very distinct and singular vocal style.
The second track, “Teenage Dead Girl”, isn’t quite as good however. The drums really let down the band in my opinion. The beats played, sound not amateurish, but very bad. The start is terrible, although the song does get better. The best thing about Residue is that they sound different from a lot of bands. This song is boring though. Hearing the same guitar chord sequence over, and over, and over again is, like a dying elephant, not something I really want to listen to.
The last track on the single is a Minor Threat cover, called “Minor Threat”. The band play the song as though they wrote it themselves - Dave’s excellent vocals play a big part in this feature – but the song, like a lot of Residue’s stuff makes me think that this band is a great one in the making. If you have heard early NOFX, not that I am comparing the two, then you will understand what I mean when I say the band sounds poor now, but that I can see a whole big future in front of them. The quality of recording is a lot better than last time, and the songs are a lot better also.
All in all, I am very glad I bought this CD for the measly £1 it cost me. Why can’t all bands put out their recordings for cheap? Iraquet is a great song with some questionable lyrics, Teenage Dead Girl is boring, and the Minor Threat cover is very good. Buy this on the strength of Iraquet. If you like punk music, then you must like this.
4 out of 5 for Iraquet, the added tracks get 2.
Residue - Hope and Fade EP
Profane Existence Review Winter/Fall 2002
This is a four song cd from 4 guys in Scotland. It's mid paced punk with Nausea-esque type vocals.I hate to say it but the music isn't too exciting, but the lyrical intention is there, covering topics like war,government scandal, leading alternative life-styles and manipulation by the media.(Jake)
Residue - Hope and Fade EP
Rico AUBL Review 19/10/02
It's always good to see a band who can reel off a whole bunch of songs in only a few minutes. Such a feat reminds me of the likes of Operation Ivy and other more politically minded, we don't really a fuck kinda bands.
This is what you might see as the meaner, dirtier end of punk rock music but I think it's the best. This is how it should be done! Hope and Fade is superb
Absolutely nothing wrong with the quality of the production as far as i could see (the CD has a very professional look to it too).
There's 6 tracks on the CD and they fly past you rather quickly - which I did sometimes feel made it difficult to say very much about them. The general sound of the tracks are just hard, mean and Grrrr!
Trendy in Black is a bouncy and quite catchy number - although perhaps a bit repetitive
Corporation is a bit faster and has some more crazy drumming in it.
Spooky is a bit slower and well, quite spooky actually. The vocals are quite insane on this one I think.
Pity Me is a more rockin' tune that's nice and fast. Grrrrr factor 10 for this one.
Some feedback begins Die D.I.Y which is another more catchy, bouncy track like the 1st one.
The final track Scorched Plains is pure RAAAR! The lyrics are superb on this track and it's a much darker song that the rest of them - which is much good!
All in all the Hope and Fade EP is something that you should definitely get your hands on and if you ever have the chance to go and see Residue Live then I think it would be well worth going!
I do feel that sometimes there could be a little bit more in the songs because sometimes you think that they're just not long enough, but at the same time that's really the whole point - so i guess it's no big deal.
Rocking, Growling and Rumbling, Hope and Fade isn't no poppy, happy skate punk malarkey! It's 110% Grrrrraaaarrr! And it comes highly recommended :)
AUBL RATING 4/5