RVIVR is a pretty polarizing back. It seems like even people who love this particular brand of punk rock have some kind of issue with this band. A lot of this can be placed on the cult of personality surrounding Matt Canino and Erica Freas. Everyone has an opinion about the band’s politics, and most people express it in very hamfisted ways.
That said, what about the music? Well, simply put, it is really fucking good. RVIVR have proven themselves to be one of the best, honest DIY bands going right now. They have the discography to prove it. Spanning multiple 7″s and EPs and the amazing self-titled full length, they have been putting out quality work since 2008. The Beauty Between only furthers that line.
“The Seam” opens this record like “Rain Down” did the last one. An extended instrumental intro before the vocals kick in. As an album opener, it more than sets the tone. Every song flows into the next one perfectly. The front half of this record is fucking loaded with greatness. Everything goes along briskly until the more mid-tempo “Paper Thin.” Everything after that (on the second half) just works together perfectly. If the first half was a bunch of stand alone songs, the second half feels like a theme record. While this is obviously partly true with the three part “Hunger Suite” songs, it follows through to the end of the record. Tracks 8 through 14 all flow seamlessly into each other. It’s actually really awesome.
There are so many songs on this record that could be considered “stand outs.” Most anything on this record could be readily made into a single. There were some uneven bits on the self-titled, but this record doesn’t suffer the same fate. Front to back, this album rules. “LMD” and “Rainspell” are certainly of note. Basically, RVIVR have once again proven that they are among the top tier of this kind of melodic punk.
Team Reasonable 