THE ROWDIES are fuzzy, sweet, and punk.

The Rowdies are like a teddy bear. A teddy bear wrapped in barbed wire. Hailing from the small suburb of Hatboro, Horsham, this little band is bursting onto the scene with a huge sound. In an era of ever changing technologies and trends, The Rowdies are taking the time to throw it back to the good old days when punk rock was an ethic, not a commodity sold at Pac Sun.

The root of The Rowdies sound is punk rock. Blending styles of decades past, this band can be described as the greatest mix-tape of every punk band you’ve ever loved…ever. A song like “Non Believer” evokes a picture of Kurt Cobain sitting down with Johnny Rotten to discuss school systems not including evolution in their curriculums. The band firmly believes in using copious amounts of distortion. Used in conjunction with a loud chorus, quiet verse method, it amounts to a tip of the hat to their forefathers. Distortion is used as a color tool, to embellish the magnitudes of the scenes being created in the songs’ stories.

Underneath this warm blanket of hot fuzz, lies the teddy bear element of the band. They coat their songs in armor made out of raunchy guitars in order to protect the utterly sweet nature of the subject matter they are singing about. A song like “War Not Over” discusses love lost and is summed up by an awe-inspiring chorus of “…life ends like a cigarette when you drag…”. Songs are never composed around a chorus. They don’t compose a big chorus just to create something catchy. The Rowdies tell stories. Each song has a point and each point is made through lyrical compositions that mix creative wordplay with the occasional profound lyric.

The use of big choruses is no surprise, but the sweet singing team of Dan and Joe Rio is. Throwing back to The Kinks, this brother tandem sound the way rum and coke tastes. Delicious. Both have a sweet side to their songwriting that allows one to think of Van Morrison or Elvis Costello. Dan’s voice has an intensity that cements his role as lead singer. Joe possesses an innocent voice that helps to balance out Dan’s intensity. A song like “Crashing Under The Influence” is evidence of such.

Whatever your taste may be, The Rowdies will most likely quench your thirst. The blending of what has already been done seems to be leading this band in a direction of their own. With a full-length debut scheduled for release in the very near future, 2010 is gearing up to be a big year for The Rowdies.

About Matt Brigidi

Matt is studying Music History at Temple University. He loves his guitar just as much as he loves his Flyers.