RIYL: Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Maps and Atlases, and Passion Pit.
“Rigbi” decided on there name in 2011 but many of them have been writing and loving music together since the late 90s. That shows itself by some of the influence you hear in the record, influences like The Police, and U2, to just name a couple. 2011 was a good year for the guys of Rigbi as they added the last piece of the puzzle in the form of Mr. Pat Maloney who plays the keyboard, percussion, and the glockenspiel. Add him to an already well rounded group of musicians in Jon Izzarry on guitar, and vocals , Randy Sabo on Bass, and Brian Corrnish on drums, and you get the makings of “Rigbi”. Visionary, Rigbi’s exciting and enjoyable freshman release, provides hope for many more great albums to come.
Visionary is very fun and thought provoking. They must have spent plenty of time constructing the musicianship to the record as its about flawless in what I believe they were trying to achieve. With that said 3 of the 7 songs on this record are short instrumentals, but that’s just how Rigbi rolls. One of the things that comes through in the record is the fact that its music made from 4 dudes that want to jam out and play music that they love to play and listen to. I would love to experience Rigbi in a live setting as I could imagine the energy that comes out during their set.
Lyrically this record seams very unspecified. And actually I don’t think that is a bad thing. Certain songs make you feel certain ways and can mean different things to you at different times. Each time I listened to this record the songs’ meanings changed in interesting ways. At first I wasn’t sure what to write about the lyrics of this record but if I could say one thing about them the thing that comes to mind at this point is the freedom to express and think what you want. Keeping in mind that this isn’t a very lyrically driven record as again 3 of the 7 songs are lyric-less. Well I cant completely say that, he says something in “((Hearts in a row))” but I cant quite make out what it is.
The track that I keep going back to is “Hostage”, this song jams. Randy killed it on this one, the bass line is stellar. They also showcase the vocal limits they are capable of. They have powerful harmonies during the chorus, and Jon showcases the vocal range is he capable. Quite impressive. If I had to be critical with this record I would say that I would like to have seen the instrumentals become full songs. With that being said, if the only complaint I have is wanting more music from Rigbi, then that isn’t all that bad. These guys can hang with the best in indie pop. They are capable of producing great songs of the genre. I will have to watch for a touring schedule for Rigbi. The live show often makes or breaks a band for me.
All that to say, I love this record. I hope to hear more from Rigbi soon. Their song writing is very unique and well expressed. They can count on me for a check on the consumer side of things.
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