I recently discovered Rituals when I received a friend request from vocalist Neil Popkin on Facebook, and did some creeping on his profile shortly thereafter. Doing so exposed me to some great electronic music, and a new band to look forward to hearing more about. Here’s a little bit about Rituals:
Rituals is an LA based electronic band featuring vocalist Neil Popkin, of the band War Tapes, electronic producer Julian Denis and Australian based drummer Pablo. Rituals have already amassed a very strong online following on Soundcloud, Facebook. Having only played a handful of shows all over the United States, Rituals unique live performance has gained popularity by word of mouth.
Early in 2012 the band played along side Shiny Toy Guns and was well received as the direct support act for a sold out crowd.
Their latest EP, The Cinema, is a three track piece of work that gives a small glimpse of influence drawn from acts like Depeche Mode and The Cure. The EP opens with the track “Let Me Go”, which reminds me more of something along the lines of De/Vision and The Cure during the Pornography era. Catchy track, and very moody.
The second track is called “Gypsy”, and is currently my favorite out of the three songs on the EP. The opening melody reminds me of “Cities in Dust” by Siouxsie and the Banshees with a mixture of some of the sounds on the new Julien-k album. Lyrically, the best on the EP.
The title track, “Cinema” is very Depeche Mode in nature. It’s also the darkest song on the EP, a very haunting piece.
You can check out the EP for yourself below and tell us what you think!
Rating: 
No comments yet.