THE RIFLES are a band out of time. Britpop would have been fantastic for this four-piece, with its narrow world view of guitar-only bands and a penchant for Paul Weller-inspired dad rock.
A decade-and-a-half after that short-lived phenomenon breathed its last, though, The Rifles sound like the stoned festival-goer refusing to believe it’s all over.
“Timeless indie pop”, the press release cries, and that is true – but only in the sense that we’ve heard it all before and it was better the first time.
That might be a little harsh on None The Wiser, which rarely strays from a strict formula of three-minute pop accompanied by a catchy chorus and is a perfectly adequate record.
Opener Minute Mile, Go Lucky and All I Need have obvious, and pleasing, hooks that have you, briefly at least, hitting the repeat button. But it is a feeling that doesn’t last long.
Variety is not in abundant supply and, compared with contemporaries like The Maccabees, The Rifles are left behind.
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