Ripe For Anarchy feels like driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in the rain. Characters in countless movies drive in convertibles through the sun-drenched California coast, but when a tourist finally gets there to chase this phenomenon, there’s a chance that it might begin to pour; it leaves the person wondering, “is this it?”. Business of Dreams’ Ripe For Anarchy embodies this idea, as well as beauty of learning to live in the moment. On this record, Los Angeles musician Corey Cunningham assembles a collection of songs with reverb-soaked acoustic guitars, snappy drums, and relaxed vocals to create a washed-out atmosphere, while presenting lyrics that capture many of a typical young adult’s worries and desires.
The album opens with "Chasing that Feeling," a shoegaze-y anthem that creates the Californian highway image. This track is a hopeful look towards the horizon, describing how we are all naturally optimistic, yet lyrics such as “the sun will burn the Earth, and the stretching of the Universe, leaves us without words” depict harsh realities. This theme is continued into "My Old Town" and title track, "Ripe For Anarchy." "My Old Town" is an airy, nostalgic track that is dominated by an onslaught of percussive instruments, and the title track captures the feeling of falling in a dream, only to be woken up with a power pop song about despair, "N.R.E.A.M."
The second half of the album is a much darker, heavy collection of emotional ballads. "Don’t Let Our Time Expire," my favorite song on this project, is a track consisting of a droning acoustic guitar, and Cunningham sings, “Legs like us were meant to run, under the covers with loneliness… don’t let our time expire”; absolutely soul-crushing. Following this, "I Never Could Tell You" is a quick pop song drenched in reverb and despair, and "The Hatchet Song" is a Smiths-esque song about death. "Naïve Scenes," is how I imagine the Smiths would have sounded like if they had heard My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless before recording The Queen is Dead; this great combination of shoegaze and British-pop inspiration can be heard on this track. "La La La La" reminds me of whimsicality of the 90s rock heroes The Flaming Lips, and "I Feel Dread" vibes true to the same charm of Pinkerton-era Weezer.
"Keep the Blues Away" left me feeling like if the car you were in on the Pacific Coast Highway suddenly hydroplanes, and is sent skidding across multiple lanes of traffic, falling straight into the Pacific Ocean. The lyrics of this track echo the idea presented by the first track and the many reverby-ballads in between; “is this it?”. The album helps one come to terms with the idea of learning to live in the present and understanding the fragility of morality.
Ripe For Anarchy is an extremely dark picture painted with neon colors. Cunningham grabs hold of the listener and brings them to a new place, surrounding them with new thoughts and emotions to explore. Business of Dreams just finished a series of tour dates with Tough Age and Corduroy to support the new album. Ripe For Anarchy is available now through Slumberland Records and Knock Yr. Socks Off Records. Check it out below.
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