RIXE - Les Nerfs A Vif

La Vida Es Un Mus

 

While I was still recovering from previous day performances by the likes of Legion 76, Stars & Stripes, Battle Ruins and such, RIXE had the honor to kick off day two of last month’s PSK Festival. Despite being the opener of the day, the band heavily impressed, just like they did with their debut EP “Coups Et Blessures”, easily making them one of my favorite bands of the weekend! Unfortunately the festival was just a bit too early for the band to present their brand new slab of wax, but now the wait is over! Continuing their quest to impress, the French lads deliver four brand new scorchers on the “Les Nerfs A Vif” EP!

 

Opening up with “Hexagone”, RIXE already delivered one of the best tracks you will hear in 2016. Immediately reminding me of the impact Criminal Damage’s “Call Of Death” had on me, RIXE’s “Hexagone” strongly reminds me of the Portland punks’ sound in general, cranking out a raucous, raw anthem with a superb, ultra-melodic refrain that gets me all pumped up! “Rapport De Force” bursts out some more of that good old Blitz-worship. Brought with fierce energy, its riffs and melodies kind of have a melancholic feel to it, much alike I mentioned before in reviews of other French outfits such as Syndrome 81 and Traitre. But don’t be mistaken, these aren’t some sobby songs! They are actually extremely powerful, partly due to the simultaneous vocals of all three members Maxime, Tom and Wattie throughout the whole record!

 

But as said in my introduction, “Les Nerfs A Vif” has a total of four songs, the remaining two being “A Countre-Courant” and the band’s anthem “RIXE”. Unlike the aforementioned two tracks, these stompers lack in sublime melodies, but shine through sheer aggravation with a thumping, destructive beat! A bit more back to the basics, but lugging around with so much power making you want to wreck the place apart!

 

Ever since I gave “Coups Et Blessures” its first spin I wanted to hear more by these three mad men and their latest work simply does not disappoint! RIXE shows both its melodic as well as its barbaric side on “Les Nerfs A Vif”, a 7” that is bound to be one of my favorite records of 2016!