The Ramonas – Haphazard

The dictionary definition of Haphazard is “Lacking any obvious principle of organization”, which either by coincidence or design is exactly what you get with this album.

As their name suggests, The Ramonas started off as an all female tribute to one of the pioneers of 70’s three chord Rock ‘N Roll, New York’s very own Ramones. They gradually started to write their own songs, and in 2017 released their first full length album of original material, entitled First World Problems, which I understand was positively received. Haphazard is the follow up record. I’d not actually heard any of their music prior to this release, but given the multiple glowing reports about the band, I was really looking forward to hearing the album.

The album starts off promisingly with Loser, clocking in at under 2 minutes. Indeed the majority of the songs employ a similar brief timing template throughout. Having said that the title track is next, and is the longest track on the album at a “Prog Rock” length of nearly 3.5 minutes! However, this is where the record starts to sew the seeds of it’s own downfall, as of the 13 songs on offer, seven have the all too familiar woah-woah-woah’s liberally peppered throughout. The rest of the lyrics are at best, awkward or at worst, puerile, even though the subject matters are varied and very relevant (recent political matters, the demise of Trump, environmental issues, sexism and mental health). I know lyrics are just not important to some people, but for me, they are the fundamental foundation of a song, because if you’ve got nothing to add to the discourse, maybe silence is the better option? Added to this, I just don’t feel convinced by the words, as there’s just no bile or venom in the delivery.

Unfortunately, the producer has chosen to favour the bass guitar to such an extent that the guitars and to a lesser extent the vocals are buried beneath the rumbling Lemmy-esque four string. However, the biggest problem is that the songs are ultimately just don’t seem that exciting or memorable. Maybe I’m missing the point, and they’re one of those bands who have to be seen in a live environment, but based on this collection of songs, I just don’t see the appeal of The Ramonas.

You can pre-order Haphazard on CD via Big Cartel and digitally via Bandcamp, you can also pre-save the album on Spotify and Apple Music. A limited edition vinyl release will follow next year via ProRawk Records.