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Riverboat Gamblers - Underneath the Owl

Rating

RIYL

I Am the Avalanche
The Loved Ones
Against Me
The Bronx

Release Date

03/10/2009

Label

Volcom Entertainment

Tracklist

1. Dissdissdisskisskisskiss (featuring Todd Congelliere)
2. A Choppy yet Sincere Apology
3. Catastrophe
4. Alexandria
5. Pilgrims in an Unholy Land
6. Sleepless
7. Robots May Break Your Heart
8. The Tearjerker
9. Keep Me from Drinking
10. Steer Clear
11. Victory Lap

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Recent Ratings
Rick Gebhardt

Riverboat Gamblers have been at it for over a decade now, with a slew of releases since the beginning of the millennium. Like many of their peers, the band has gradually been writing more rock focused albums, most noticeable on their previous effort, To the Confusion of Our Enemies. Underneath the Owl, the band’s newest release, continues with this trend and should prove to be a worthy addition to their catalog.

Underneath the Owl’s opener is akin to Riverboat Gamblers’ older material, being more punk than rock. However, it’s out of place on this release because the band focuses more on rock and roll over the remainder of the album, and the brevity of the track makes it fairly forgettable. “A Choppy yet Sincere Apology” comes next and feels more like the true opener with its vibrant verse and well constructed chorus. The song is a good representation of Riverboat Gamblers’ ability to write hits that don’t stray too far from the sound they’ve worked so hard to create. The final track on Underneath the Owl is also worth mentioning. Many bands go with the slow ballad to close out the album which, frankly, is starting to get old. Riverboat Gamblers have the right idea with “Victory Lap” because it ends the listener’s musical journey with one of the best songs on the release.

There are also some other songs besides the opener that don’t work so well on Underneath the Owl, but they’re still tolerable. “Robots May Break Your Heart” is an example of one of these songs, and it comes off sounding like the band is trying too hard to differentiate themselves from their peers. It has a punk vibe to it, but the xylophone is prevalent throughout, making for an awkward mixture of sounds, not to mention that the xylophone is becoming played out in general. “The Tearjerker” is also guilty of overdoing it but this time it’s because of the slide guitar. There’s nothing inherently wrong with adding different instruments to this or any other style of music, but the way the band is doing it doesn’t quite work on this album.

Although there are no major downfalls on Underneath the Owl, the album only has a few superior songs. Most of the songs are good, and the less enjoyable ones do add some diversity to the mix, but there’s not enough above average content to consider it a stellar release. That being said, Riverboat Gamblers have crafted a solid record with Underneath the Owl that fans of the genre will no doubt enjoy.

--Nicholas Fritz