The Young Rochelles - Breezy (Guest Review By Ralph J Rivera)

  

  Hailing from Long Beach, New York, Ricky, Rocky & Rookie collectively known as "The Young Rochelles" (https://www.facebook.com/TheYoungRochelles) burst onto the Ramonescore/Pop Punk scene with their 2013 EP "Cannibal Island". Instantly a fan favorite they dropped their first self titled LP/CD in 2017 & quickly followed it up the following year with a nod to their heroes with the "It's Alive, Too" document.

   They showed some signs of moving away from the straight "Ramonescore" of previous records with a couple new EP's. But it seemed the game changer came in 2021 when lead singer/drummer Ricky Rochelle dropped his solo album "So Far So Good". Showing an amazing new range in both his vocals & songwriting ability he brought this formula into his band. After teasing us as to what was to come with their recent split EP with the Travoltas, the boys have graced us with their new LP/CD "Kicked To The Curb". Available on their Bandcamp https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/album/kicked-to-the-curb and Sounds Rad who are handling the beautiful vinyl packages https://www.soundsradical.com/. 

    Readers of my FB group "The Switchblade New Wave" already know that this is my pick for "Pop Punk Album Of The Year" but I wanna give this modern day classic a proper review. Remember the first time you heard The Unlovables "Crush-Boyfriend-Heartbreak"? YEAH THIS IS ON THAT LEVEL! 14 songs that run the gamut on every phase of being in love.

   Starting off with the very Beach Boys flavored "Chameleon" this one tells the age old story of growing up & growing apart. By track 4 we get the should be hit song "Breezy". A beautiful tune that Ricky wrote for his new bride. Always the most enduring of all inspirations TRUE LOVE conquers all! And THEN it gets followed by the song every female needs to hear - "Fractured Fairy Tale". A very truthful explanation about putting too much faith in finding the "perfect" mate. Love the lyrics to this one. Other top tunes are "The End Of Us", "He Says", the scathing "You Broke My Fucking Heart" and "Capture The Feeling". But almost album ender, track 13 "Vacation" is the other big hit song on a loaded album. I ordered the LP after hearing only 2 songs and I'm posting the best Pop Punk song you'll hear all year. This my friends is "Breezy". Stop whatever you're doing today and listen to "Kicked To The Curb". It will change your life or at least your mind on "Modern" Pop Punk...

The Young Rochelles - Gotta Keep You Alive

 

  Just bear with me on this opening paragraph, I'll get to today's song soon. The next Just Some Punk Songs show will be tomorrow (Sunday 8th) at 8pm (UK time) and will feature the usual round up of the best new releases (https://www.facebook.com/events/277502763004142/) but then next week's show would have been going out at the same time as the World Cup final so sod that. As of yet I haven't decided when to broadcast it but I have decided to play an hour of catchy as hell proper pop punk tunes. A mix of golden oldies with a few new releases sprinkled in, if you like that kind of music, you're in for a treat. Keep your eyes peeled for when it's going out or wait for it to be saved to my Mixcloud profile (https://www.mixcloud.com/mick-fletcher/). The playlist is top secret but the song you'll find below will feature.....

  The Young Rochelles are no strangers to this blog. Forming in 2013 out of the ashes of The New Rochelles, they're a Ramones influenced 3 piece with a drummer on lead vocals and a happy knack of turning out infectious earworms. Last month they released (via Sounds Rad! Records) a digital live album which, though I'm not the biggest fan of live albums, I thought was great. 16 songs rattled through in pretty much no time at all (just like the Godfathers of this kind of music did 40+ years ago) and the sound is top notch. You'll be able to catch them in the flesh when they start their latest tour in a couple of weeks (dates here : https://www.facebook.com/TheYoungRochelles/) The album's called It's Alive, Too! and you can check it out here :  https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/album/its-alive-too

  As well as the live album, there's also a new single. 2 new songs, it's out on clear, hand numbered 5.5" lathe cut records. It's mega limited to only 89 copies,  I've checked the Swamp Cabbage Records store and it appears to (unsurprisingly) already be sold out http://swampcabbagerecords.storenvy.com/
You can however still get it digitally :  https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/album/gotta-keep-you-alive

  Great band, great new song (it'll fit in nicely with the classics I'll play on next week's show). This is Gotta Keep You Alive....

 

The Young Rochelles - My Stomach Hates My Guts

  Ricky, Rookie, Rocky & Ray Jay are The Young Rochelles. They're from Long Beach, New York and they're a kick ass old school pop punk band. But if you're a regular visitor to Just Some Punk Songs you know all that. You probably also know they released a fun self titled debut album last December.....  https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/album/the-young-rochelles

  What you may have missed is the release of a new video for one of the songs from that album. Filmed by Bambi Guthrie it's a Pepto Bismaltastic tale of over long bathroom visits, Tum snorting and projectile vomit. It even has a tacked on blooper reel. The song's pretty darn catchy too.

  This is My Stomach Hates My Guts.....

The Young Rochelles - I Never Saw the Ramones

Bambi Guthrie Photography


  Long Beach pop punkers The Young Rochelles have graced this blog several times since they formed in 2013 so I was a bit angry with myself for missing the release of their debut, S/T album (on Sounds Rad! Records), a few weeks before Christmas. With me not noticing it until around a month later the band missed out on being in the running for a spot in the Just Some Punk Songs Best Of 2017 chart. It's a shame as the song featured in today's update would quite probably have been included. Oh well, I suppose it's not as great a tragedy as having missed seeing The Ramones....

  I've previously told you about their releases and that they're a 3 piece featuring Ricky Rochelle (lead vocals/drums), Rookie Rochelle (bass guitar) and Rocky Rochelle (electric guitar/backup vocals). On the new album they're joined by Ray Jay Rochelle who as well as providing backup vocals also fills in with additional guitars. So "what's the album like?" you ask....

  Unsurprisingly it's a blast. More of the same fast, catchy Ramones inspired pop punk gems we've come to expect from them. Songs about girls, skunk apes, more girls, stomach upset and girls... All good fun, lots of harmonies (Ricky has a great voice for this kind of music) and bass driven tuneage. 14 songs, none of which outstay their welcome. Go check it out.....  https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/

  This is I Never Saw The Ramones....

The Young Rochelles - Organ Trade

 

  There seems to be a big online push to get the new video from The Young Rochelles noticed. It seems everytime I check my Facebook timeline the video is on there. I was tempted not to post it on here for fear that everyone had already seen it plus I've already given out info on the band in a couple of updates but what the hell, it's a great song and if a few more people discover it on here then it's all good. You can check out the previous 2 updates here and save me having to rewrite the info already given....

http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/the-young-rochelles-not-any-use.html

http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/the-young-rochelles-stay-at-home-man.html

  Another useful link is their Bandcamp page where you can find both older material plus the new ep, Organ Trade....

https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/

 Organ Trade is also available on 7" vinyl through Greenway Records and it features 3 tracks of the fun, catchy Ramones influenced pop punk that The Young Rochelles are known and loved for. In support of the ep they'll be embarking shortly on the For The Record tour, details of which you can find here : https://www.facebook.com/TheYoungRochelles/

  Having your insides ripped out has never seemed so much fun, this is Organ Trade....
 

The Young Rochelles - Not Any Use

 

  Ramonescore is a tag used to describe the many bands that claim The Ramones as an influence and who sound at least a little bit like them. As with all genres, the quality of these bands can vary greatly (though as even the worst of them has put out better music than I'd be capable of doing who am I to criticise any of them). When bands get it right however (obvious names to drop in here include The Lillingtons, Teenage Bottlerocket, The Queers, Screeching Weasel, Riverdales etc.... many more can be found on Ramone To The Bone https://rttb-records.bandcamp.com/ ), they can be worthy successors to the band they worship. As you'll see from the video below, The Young Rochelles are definitely one of the bands who get it right.
 
From Long Beach, New York, they've already featured on this blog here : http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/the-young-rochelles-stay-at-home-man.html and bassist Rookie Rochelle selected a top 10 of his favourite songs here : http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/top-10-songs-chosen-by-rookie-rochelle.html so I don't think I need to add much more detail other than to point you in the direction of their Bandcamp : https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/ and to mention that their debut album is coming this summer.

  They've just released a video for one of the songs that featured on last year's split ep they put out with The Nerdy Jugheads and I think it's pretty damn good. This is Not Any Use.....
 

Top 10 Songs Chosen By Rookie Rochelle (Young Rochelles/New Rochelles/The Isotopes)

  Another top 10 today, this one is chosen by Rookie Rochelle, who featured in yesterday's update with his band the Young Rochelles and who has also played bass with the New Rochelles and The Isotopes.

  You can check out his work here :

https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/
https://thenewrochelles1.bandcamp.com/
https://theisotopes.bandcamp.com/

  Thanks for the list Rookie.......

 1)  THE RAMONES - Rockaway Beach

 2)  THE DICKIES - Stukas Over Disneyland

 3)  NOFX - Quart In Session

 4)  SCREECHING WEASEL - Pauline

 5)  THE QUEERS - Janelle Janelle

6)  STIFF LITTLE FINGERS - Suspect Device

 7)  DEAD KENNEDYS - Drug Me

 8)  FRENZAL RHOMB - When My Baby Smiles At Me I Go To Rehab

 9)  THE VINDICTIVES - In Persuit

10)  DEE DEE KING - Brooklyn Babe

The Young Rochelles - Stay-At-Home Man

  The Young Rochelles are from Long Beach, New York and formed in January 2013. The line up is Ricky Rochelle (lead vocals/drums), Rookie Rochelle (bass) and Randy Rochelle (electric guitar/backing vocals).

  As with many of the bands on this blog, their influences include the likes of The Ramones, The Queers, Screeching Weasel etc. So far they've released a killer debut ep, Cannibal Island, they contributed a Queers cover to a 4 way Wedding split on Mom's Basement Records (which also features The Putz, Eaten Back To Life and Horror Section) and last year's Know The Code ep which came out on Greenway Records. You can check them all out (along with Ramones, Methadones and Parasites covers) here : https://theyoungrochelles.bandcamp.com/

  Ricky and Rookie were also in The New Rochelles (who you can check out here : https://thenewrochelles1.bandcamp.com/.

  Tomorrow's update will feature Rookie's top 10 favourite songs, I don't think I'm giving anything away by revealing it'll contain some catchy as hell pop punk tunes.

  Speaking of catchy as hell pop punk tunes, the one you'll find below definitely matches that description. From the Know The Code ep, this is Stay-At-Home Man......