Album Review: Boundary Issues

Fresh to my ears, The RVMES (pronounced The Rooms) are an explosive four-piece hailing from Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, known for their bold pink branding, electrifying live energy, and a defining sound that fuses alternative rock, funk, groove, and reggae.

This four-piece sonic fireball has been lighting up stages and melting genre lines since 2018. With their brand-new drop, Boundary Issues, they release the restless creative energy pent up from three years’ touring. Each song shaped and honed, no doubt by countless stages, crowds, moments and epiphanies that came before the final sparks that made it to the studio.

Shihad often complained that engineers couldn’t truly harness that ‘sound’ of their live shows quite the way they heard it or experienced it. The RVMES, I think, have fared better there. They leave the recordings a little less polished, leaning into their chaos of influences and inspirations. You get a real sense of what they are like live, too.

That’s thanks to the sympathetic efforts of Casey and John Messent at Wardrobe Studios, plus mixing from Te Matera Smith, and mastering by Luke Finlay. The resulting record has an immediate presence, which I love. Moreover, it feels ALIVE!

There’s a maelstrom of styles. Surf rock grooves courtesy of Tauranga beach bogan Logan Fox’s early days; some sexy Brazilian rhythms and vibes from bassist Ronaldo Lima, a sweet soul coating on Edwin Judd’s vocals, and some edgy, hot licks from Richard Moore’s guitar.

The album opens with a palpable sense of heat – not just in tone, but in pacing, with the deep bass grooves on Can’t Escape It. Essentially, it could be just a standard meat and potatoes rock ballad. But it’s Lima’s swaggering bass that gives some much welcome uplift.

Stays The Same has a deliciously funky guitar riff running through it, giving it plenty of soul. Judd’s throaty vocals add credibility to the lyrics.

And speaking of funk, look no further than the very next track, Goodies, which is dripping in fabulous 70’s guitar fuzz. This is a custom-made party track guaranteed to fill the dancefloor. Someone’s been bingeing out on Parliament and George Clinton albums and they use every trick in the guitarist’s foot-pedal manual to bring this puppy home.

Mining the 70’s MOR vibe, Ecstasy takes a lazy laggard down the summer reggae road. If I wasn’t paying attention, I’d almost swear this was a collab with L.A.B or Katchafire.

It’s a definite festival fav, for sure. Perfect for raving up in the afternoon sun. Nice’n’catchy, with a bit of a crowd participation invitation. The lyrics are cocktail cool, sentimental yet also real.

The song would definitely sit well on my early spring good vibes playlist. But if this one’s a bit too light for you, then no fear. Later on, the band will go deeper on the dub with Place To Fall. That one sways about in full Ganja style, as if Mr Lee Perry himself was behind the mixers.

For me, though, Cold Steel stands strongest. I loved the restrained buildup, the weird sci-fi techy smatterings at the beginning, and the way it bursts out into a full-on Deep Purple scenario. The rhythm guitar chugs away, with an alternating bass line driving the grunty engine and a heavy sludgy classic rock production. Fox’s tribal tom beat keeps up the cadence at breakneck speed. The track Highway Star came to mind. You’ve gotta live through the gnarly guitar licks that complete the landing – they are pure Ritchie Blackmore! Thank you Mr Richard Moore.

Don’t get me wrong. Deep Purple were teen heroes of mine. I appreciate the nod if that’s what this is. I love Cold Steel. I wanted more of this.

So, a return to the 70’s funk ballad template on What It Be was, um, let’s say just a slight disappointment. I thought we’d kinda already been here.

By the time we hit Equilibrium and Diamonds we are deep in latter day Dragon territory. Not a bad place to be, I’ll grant you. Pay attention to the latter, there’s some lovely groovy fretwork to watch for.

Then there’s a nice surprise on Shallow Water. Led mainly by a recurring acoustic riff, it’s a super swift beach bash of a tune in the style of Jack Johnson.

Of all the songs, Any Better Reason feels the most refined. The lyrics, the phrasing and even the production are all a notch above. It’s got the sharpest hook and is a real promise of what this band can really do. I love the turn from laid back to intense rock. More of this, please.

It’s interesting that the RVMES have chosen to hone their sound into a more commercial blend. If you care to take a trip through their back catalogue you’ll notice how their songs were all over the dial – beach bum reggae (Around The Corner), Ramones snarl (Simple Things), even a bit of ‘90’s Brit Pop (Big Bam Boom). I wonder who made the decision to abandon those flavours.

Boundary Issues is a more cohesive collection of songs, with clear themes and direction. I can’t claim the lyrics are profound or deep but does that really matter? It’s a marker of the band’s progression. Their sound is coming along. They’ve changed lineups (most recently with Richard Moore jumping in on guitar). They’ve been on a journey to get here, and you can hear and feel that. They are not chasing trends or genres, mixing it up a bit. Obviously, there’s been a range of ideas and thoughts in their creative process. And it’s also clear there’s some amazing talent. They just need to watch that they hold fast when they finally land on an agreed approach.