BIO
America 2008. Let’s face it, it certainly isn’t the brightest chapter in the country’s history. Mired in wars, a failing economy and rising gas prices – it’s a time and place where the average person is working harder than ever to make less money than ever.
Enter THE NATIONAL RIFLE and their brilliant new album, Wage Life. If ever there was a piece of art that is a direct result of the times, it’s this – a rabble-rousing, raucous rock and roll record that is not only relentlessly creative, but fiercely fun. It’s political without being overwhelming - a CLASH album for the twenty-first century.
“Politics are not just things debated on ‘Meet the Press,’" opines singer/guitarist Hugh. “They're personal to me and affect every aspect of my life. To ignore that would be to ignore who I am. I mean, I certainly wouldn't want to be another asshole selling some socially acceptable idea of love to some preteens with a three-minute pop song.“
Politics and rock and roll certainly aren’t strange bedfellows, but where any pissed-off kid with a guitar can write angry anarchistic (and often times nihilistic) punk rock rants, there are few songwriters out there who can not only express such ideas and ideals in an intelligent manner – and fewer still who have the musical prowess to wow someone in the process.
Hearing the musical adventurousness of Wage Life, which meanders down the halls of 40 years of rock and roll, one wouldn’t be completely surprised to learn that the band's members had spent a year of their lives practicing funk tunes by Cameo and The Ohio Players. What would surprise one is to learn that Pink’s management team had once tried to make them into another ’N Sync. Or that one of the members escaped his “M!ssundaztood” boy-band fate by moving to Israel with his girlfriend.
All you’d really know for sure about these four Philly kids is that they can rock like THE WHO, rage like THE CLASH and let loose the hounds like the VELVET UNDERGROUND, and they do all three famously on Wage Life, whose seven tracks are a smoldering manifesto on life and love in post-9/11 America. Two tons of tension and urgency delivered through a swarm of indelible pop hooks. It's ominous ear candy that you want to devour post-haste, despite the fact that at the center of that Tootsie Roll might be a razor blade.
“I don't think there are too many bands that we can be perfectly compared to, and a large part of that is because we play varied styles that I don't think a lot of other bands accomplish within the same album,” Hugh says. “I feel that we bring a new approach to that type of material and try to say something new with a lot of those ideas.”
Since solidifying in Philadelphia in the spring of 2006, THE NATIONAL RIFLE dropped a self-titled EP in the world, and followed with a knock-down, drag-out tour of America’s bars, clubs and basements that still hasn’t ended. Whereas some other bands might live for the high-profile club shows, the RIFLE’S members prefer the basements – and the sweatier, the better.
“People there are really so much more open-minded and there are no inhibitions. Everyone shows their love of the music and approaches us afterwards,” says Nadia. “It really has been the key to spreading the music.”
“If we're lucky, we'll have to give it up for bigger venues,” Hugh adds, “but hopefully we'll never have to lose that feeling.”
If the growing buzz about THE NATIONAL RIFLE is any indication, they may have to give up those basements sooner than they think. And if they’re lucky, they might just be able to quit their day jobs. Regardless of what comes their way, it’s nothing that can unravel the beautiful, sweat-soaked, pretense-free connection they’ve made with their fans around the country. But until then, it's "come home from tour and go back to work."
“There are so many things that we as Americans accept without questioning,” explains Hugh. “Work, in the way that its almost mythologized in America, is one of those things, alongside earning and ownership. I, like many other people out there, feel like a wage slave in my personal life. When work and wages are two things that define our lives as Americans, then we are all living a Wage Life."
PRESS QUOTES
MAMMOTH PRESS:
"The National Rifle is on the path to greatness, and Wage Life shows they're well on their way there."
SKYSCRAPER:
"The National Rifle manage to stay on the right side of the hipster spectrum while still getting the asses shaking... With Wage Life, The National Rifle seem like they may be leaving day jobs far behind."
POP MATTERS :
"The National Rifle evades pigeonholing with bratty dexterity... these guys are nobody's bitch."
JERSEY BEAT :
"Get this. You won't be disappointed."
SCENE POINT BLANK:
"The National Rifle is an interesting mix of styles, as their brand of indie pop is incredibly radio friendly, with easily defined choruses and memorable hooks."
EXODUSTER:
"Whatever your anchor point, a few of the songs on Wage Life will make you extremely glad that you haven’t lost your hearing... One of the best unsigned bands kicking around. "
ROCK FREAKS:
"Be prepared to be surprised during each song, as the band teases you with short jazz-, country-, and god knows what else-passages in the middle of their otherwise straight forward garage rock sound - this is the cornerstone of their sound and the reason why they sound so refreshingly different. Why aren't these guys signed yet?"
DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY:
"Catchy [and] upbeat... The right combination of substance and fun lightheartedness [makes] The National Rifle unique and memorable."
PERFORMER:
"Wage Life breaks all the rules, and then rebuilds them again in a fun, happy sound"
MUSIC-REVIEWER:
"WAGE LIFE definitely has its share of moments and is worth more than a couple of front to back plays"
PLUG IN MUSIC :
"Spirited garage rock ready to step out"
AIDING & ABETTING :
"[This is] one of those albums I'll need to keep revisiting frequently."
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