Blame Ringo – At The In-Between : Single Reviews

Brisbane’s Blame Ringo are probably better known for their name than their tuneage. The story goes: the band was called ‘Goodnight Vienna’. Ringo Starr intervened and threatened litigation, as ‘Goodnight Vienna’ is also a song of his (possibly failed) album.  So Goodnight Vienna became Blame Ringo, with good reason. Cheeky devils.

Anyway, the band’s new single At The In-Between opens with a deeply 90s-esque guitar riffage (I swear it sounds a little like Semi-Charmed Life at the beginning…just me?) and breaks into catchy indie-pop rock the likes of which you might hear all over Triple J at any given time of day. The guitars are pitched high and cheery. “One, two, three, meet you at the in-between” go the so-so lyrics; at least frontman Pete Kilroy has an original enough sounding voice to stand out from the hoi polloi.

The track has rooted pop sentiments with indie rock aspirations, and I think Blame Ringo have a pretty good formula going. Thought I’m not inclined to cry ‘revolucion’; it’s inoffensive, essentially innocuous, pop music that, while utilizing a hook line that may get stuck in one’s head, is more or less ineffective. I can see how some people might adore this song, but I just don’t.