Vinyl LP, Cassette, Compact Disc (CD), T-Shirt/Shirt
Traveling, the 2021 debut from Philadelphia-based, DIY, noisy rock outfit Rid Of Me, signaled a fledgling band on the cusp of finding its sound. Reverb-drenched and murky, it hurdled from British post-punk melodicism to big grungy licks complete with a poppy sensibility, in large part due to the aching confessionals and face-melting cries let loose by bassist and vocalist Itarya Rosenberg. While Traveling conjured bleary-eyed images of a plastered late-night at some dark and dingy DIY basement, Rid Of Me’s sophomore effort, Access To The Lonely, is huge, even arena-sized.
Judging from the band’s scorched-earth precision, it’s clear that Rosenberg, guitarists Mike McGinnis and Jon DeHart; and drummer Mike Howard were schooled on a healthy dose of ’90s grunge, post-hardcore, and noise-rock — and Rid Of Me have that combo of rage, noise, and melody down pat. Rosenberg’s propulsive bottom end is particularly gnarly; in tandem with Howard’s driving, odd time signature-laden pummeling, the rigorous one-two punch hints at the Jesus Lizard’s beast of a rhythm section. Factor in McGinnis and Hart’s cutthroat twin guitar salvos, and there’s nary a moment to exhale throughout the album’s eleven meaty tracks.
Like the smattering of covers sprinkled on their Bandcamp page, which include serviceable takes on Shellac, Interpol, and Deftones classics, Rid Of Me don’t shy away from showing off their influences on Access To The Lonely. “Feel Me” sounds like an outtake from Nevermind; “Libertarian Noise Rock” is two blistering minutes of Helmet-like fury; “Cut” approaches a sludgy heaviness that hits as hard as the Melvins. Aside from unleashing catchy ear bleeders with abandon, Rid Of Me are just as adept when turning down the volume and Rosenberg is to thank for that. He runs the emotional gamut, screaming his head off on one song (“Hell of It”), then achieving a quiet beauty and crushing hearts the next (“The Weekend”). Personal struggles inform Rosenberg’s lyrics and titles like “I’m So Lonesome I Could Die,” “Gutted,” and namesake song “Rid Of Me” are manifestations of those internal battles. But even when struggling with demons, there’s a flickering glimmer of hope as Access To The Lonely fairly bursts with a new lease on life-type energy. That’s reflected in the pulverizing riffage and bottomless hooks the quartet bang out, and with Rosenberg’s brutally honest nature exposed, Rid Of Me hit on all cylinders.
