Up and coming grime-punks Riskee And The Ridicule have returned with a new single which lets loose all the frustrations of spending a year in and out of lockdown.
Backwords 2 is the third of three songs the Kent four-piece recorded last year, just before the music industry – and much of life as we know it – shuddered to a halt because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
They put out the first two during 2020, starting with the Brexit-baiting Blue Jacket, followed by their majestic cover of Lana Del Rey’s award-winning 2013 smash-hit Young And Beautiful. Now they give us Backwords 2, which links to the song Backwords from their 2017 album Blame Culture.
“It’s a song about the influence of the media on the general public, how they can be so easily swayed by spun truths and false words,” explains frontman Scott Picking. “The close-minded approach to the world we live in has to be torn up. It’s less like a sequel to Backwords and more like a progression.
“We’re a different band who have got better at what we do, this felt like a way to showcase that with different dynamics and new wordplay. Right now, it’s a frustrating and limiting time to be in a band: travel restrictions from the mess that is Brexit still loom, too many venues are suffering or closing down, and we miss playing live. Backwords 2 put those feelings into a direct song.”
Of course, it should not have been this way. In 2019, the band released their third album, the spectacular Body Bag Your Scene (reviewed here), through Bomber Music. It went down a storm, they played explosive sets at Rebellion and Boomtown festivals and were looking forward to the months ahead of taking the album’s energy across the world and well, you know what happened next.
They’ve played just one gig in the last year, in between lockdowns and shifting tiers of restrictions. That socially-distanced show at the New Cross Inn in South London in October saw them unleash many months’ worth of pent-up frustration and rage. Despite the small ‘socially-distant’ crowd sat apart at tables, unable to stand up or move, nothing could hide their joy at hearing live music again.
But before long we were all ushered back into our gig-free, locked-down isolation. You can bet that as soon as the government’s roadmap finds a way out of this mess, Riskee And The Ridicule will be back onstage as soon as possible.
They already have the gigs listed below booked for June and beyond, with more to be added.
Fri 25 June SALISBURY The Winchester Gate
Sat 26 June LONDON Powerhaus
Sat 4 Sept IPSWICH Alt all dayer
Sun 26 Sept BRISTOL Attitude Festival
Sat 30 Oct RAMSGATE Music Hall
Sat 6 Nov LONDON Club Kolis
Fri 19 Nov BRIGHTON Patterns
Sat 20 Nov SOUTHAMPTON The Hobbit
