AMG Review of Phenomenon of Craving

Mark Cyst
All Music Guide

For the last five years, Good Riddance has been putting out angry, aggressive, Cali-style hardcore music on Fat Wreck Chords. This year they were seen at summer's "punk" version of ~Lollapalooza, ~the Warped Tour 2000. All things considered, I'd say they were doing pretty well for a bunch of surfers! Yet on their latest EP, recorded by the notorious Bill Stevenson (Descendents, All) at the Blasting Room, Good Riddance don't do much more than show that they are still angry, and that they still play hardcore. Don't get me wrong, I think for a new-school hardcore band, Good Riddance is one of the finer groups out there, but this time my hunger for tear-your-face-off chord progressions and intense musical energy has not been satisfied. Aside from the great sample from the film #Slapshot into the balls-out grinding of the first track ("Cage") to start off the record, as a whole this isn't the greatest; I've heard much better material on the band's earlier efforts. Still, if you are really into Good Riddance and/or West Coast hardcore, you should pick up these six new tracks and check them out for yourself. (P.O. Box 193690, S.F., CA 94119)