Sunday, January 21, 2024

Ricky Rochelle - Cannibal Island Resort


Ricky Rochelle has been on some kind of roll over the last couple years. With his band The Young Rochelles and as a solo artist, he has put his name on two of the best pop-punk albums of 2022 and 2023. Now he treats us to another excellent solo effort, an EP called Cannibal Island Resort. If you are looking for something a little different from the typical love song–based approach to pop-punk, you are in luck. 

Cannibal Island Resort, of course, is a sequel to The Young Rochelles' classic 2013 EP Cannibal Island. Every track is a sequel to a song from Cannibal Island. And fortunately, Cannibal Island Resort is an exception to the rule that sequels are never as good as the originals. I suppose we could broadly call this release "horror punk." Yet while I usually am not a fan of things horror-related, I love Cannibal Island Resort. The title track in particular appeals to my very dark sense of humor. If there really were a resort run by cannibals, this song describes the sort of unique vacation experience you could expect. Spoiler alert: it would be a trip to die for. I'm probably a sicko for finding this song so hilarious, but I know I'm not alone! "S.L.O.T.H. X"  considers the grave repercussions of science going too far — quite the poignant message in the year 2024. "Mommy's Dirty Laundry" is the sequel to "I Need My Mommy To Do My Laundry." If the relationship between the song's narrator and his mother was slightly disturbing a decade ago, well, let's just say that things have escalated. Mommy is now on trial, and Ricky leaves the exact nature of her crimes up to our imaginations. And speaking of escalation, "Ugly Afterlife" continues the narrative of "Ugly Life." The song's protagonist thought it was bad when his life was a living hell. Well now he's actually in hell. Man, when Ricky Rochelle goes dark, he really goes dark! 

Ricky teamed up with Gregg Gavitt (who plays guitar, bass, and keyboards) for this EP, and that gives it a different feel from a Young Rochelles release. Cannibal Island Resort doesn't try to copy Cannibal Island, and that's part of why it's such a success. Rather than just go for a Ramones-core approach, Ricky shows a more sophisticated touch on these four tracks without straying too far from the fundamentals of pop-punk. Critical Mass Music and Little Lost Girl Media have teamed up to release Cannibal Island Resort on vinyl, CD, and 8-track tape. Grab a copy before they're all gone!

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