Iron Fist Magazine

INTO BATTLE: RIDDLES

It’s increasingly hard for this life-long psych-doom obsessive to get excited about new bands, but the new generation is starting to spin some interesting tales. One such act is Sussex space rock three-piece Riddles. There is a definite garage-psych vibe going on with catchy raw fuzz leads cutting through some very British vocal delivery. It’s refreshing stuff. “We are definitely influenced by our own sound,” fills in charismatic mainman Jimi Riddle. “But there are some key bands that brought us to find it, like Hawkwind, Stooges, Motörhead, early Sabbath, Pentagram and Orang-utan. But it doesn’t end there, there are so many great genres and powerful bands to come out of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, it’s almost impossible to list every band that made us create the vibe we have.” The broad range of influences seems to have allowed them to create a distinct sound thus far, but are they part-timers or ambitious chaps? “We all put a lot of time and effort into this band and I think we all believe in it as its own entity. You get back what you put in and so we’re putting a lot into it. It’s like a plant, we’re giving it plenty of water and some super-grow juice and leaving it to its own devices.” They recently got the seal of approval from Fenriz, and despite sounding apart from much of the UK scene, are there any contemporaries they like? “It’s hard to say really, we are open to all styles of music as long as it’s good and they’re ripping off the right cats.” The Southeners plan to play as many shows as possible through 2014. “We’re back in the studio soon to get the rest of the first album down then taking to the road and playing as many gigs as we can shake a worn leather boot at. Because that’s what its all about!” Fine but do they know any good riddles? “What can you catch but not throw?” says he…

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