A mysterious and amazing CD was delivered to Bob Jones on the 30th of October. This serendipitous gift was given by a group of students from a high school in Los Angeles with the request that it be reviewed in Patriot Pages. The package included a professional-looking CD, a 24-page full color comic in the CD case, and a letter describing the group, its sound, and its origin.

The band, Rip N’ Time, was created from scratch. The members include Riley Ripintyme on lead and rhythm guitar, Langston Labelle on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Vincent Tarrega on drums.

It all started in the students’ seventh period multimedia class. Their teacher said, “…In September 2013, four young musicians began a journey– traveling through a portal where space, time, and music intersect.”

Riley Ripintyme promptly responded with, “I’ll start a band!”

Among the contributors include Jayne Jeff, who started the blog, Robin Araki, who created the comic, and Emily Woodbind, who became the the publicist and sent me this wonderful piece of work.

When Mrs. Panagos played the CD for the class to hear, one of the first responses came from a girl who said, “It’s just 80’s music.” Another girl, walking into the room, described that the music made her feel “energetic, youthful, alive.” Rip N’ Time has an anachronistic theme reminiscent of a time when music had an organic quality, unlike today’s heavily processed music.

Instead of coming off as jarring, Playing Her Guitar Suite has a peculiar charm. Not quite old and not quite new, a timelessness is captured in the music. It is a jingle-jangle jamboree that is at once sensitive and bold, vibrant and nuanced. “Energetic [and] youthful” are accurate descriptors, yet this album also captures a maturity that comes with a fully realized artistic endeavor. The consistent quality across the EP suggests that effort was put into each song to make it the best that it could be.

The first track, Playing Her Guitar, is a love song. It is not a song about romance, but rather a more elusive love–a love for living. It captures a certain essential joy within dreamy vocals and mellifluous melodies. The lyrics also represent the group’s maturity. “All alone in her room with all the music/playing the guitar she loves/the jingle-jangle sound it makes/even when she makes mistakes,” sings Ripintyme, demonstrating a personal contentment that is rare in today’s media.

The second track, Twisting Road, is an instrumental of cascading color. The listener is carried into Ripintyme’s mind on gentle ripples, blissful chords, and finely woven threads of sound. A few minutes into the song, the listener can feel Ripintyme’s joy as she goes on her journey. The track is magnificent, containing twists, dips, and bumpy places along the way.

The final track, Suite Dream, is a delectable instrumental that is at once directed and easygoing; Ripintyme is not rushing or meandering. She is going at her own pace. It is here that the euphoric quality of the EP blooms.

Rip N’ Time  was brave to send its first EP out into the world. Creative in presentation, yet confident and forthright, the group’s offering is impressive.

Playing Her Guitar Suite will be released on December 23, 2013 under Bosue Recordz.

I will ask you the same question that was posed to me:

“Would you consider discovering Playing Her Guitar Suite?”

Visit the Rip N’ Time website at: http://www.playingherguitarsuite.com/