Ramparts

Ramparts broke onto the Dublin scene a couple of years ago playing rough and ready rock that echoed a lot of 70s punk along the lines of The Ramones, The Stooges, The Jam, and even touches of The Sex Pistols. Foo Fighters could also be heard, and one could be forgiven for believing Ramparts were capable of making considerable impact with the stance they were taking. However, they seem to have softened up a little too much for my liking on their debut EP, Cerca Trova.

Although 'Rage' stands out well with a Teenage Kicks style punk riff, the song itself pales, almost brushing into classic rock vocals at times. In 'Lost' a delicately submissive ballad "now all i can do is say i'm lost.." is a highlight, though a second ballad in 'Never Forget' takes it all a bit too far, in what is overly clichéd, and one has to cringe at lines, which quite frankly wouldn't be out of place coming from a boy band Eurovision entry. Some credibility is restored in 'Stockholm Syndrome' which charges through with echoes of The Sex Pistols, though is delivered too stilted to have anything resembling the credibility of the 70s punk icons, so overall quite a disappointing EP. Ramparts should and can sound a lot better than this. It's a shame this EP doesn't capture it.

Taking the positives, their highlight to date is undoubtedly 'Breath It In', included on the South East Rocks Vol.2 compilation released last year on Cherish Records, a track where a punk vocal delivery reminiscent of The Ramones and The Jam dominate over an instantly appealing guitar riff that isn't a million miles from early Wedding Present in parts. It seems though, overall, that the Ramparts are wimping out on us. Let's hope not. The South East Rocks compilation on which the song 'Breath It In' appears is available through Road Records.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/rampartsrock

http://rampartsrock.bebo.com

http://www.garageband.com/artist/rampartsrock