Search - Rialto :: Night on Earth

Memorable Movie Melodies

Tyro | Brooklyn, New York USA | 05/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rialto has a sense of style and a sense of the melodramatic possibilities of pop music. These two virtues might be a little out of time in today's music scene. Who wants Rialto's ironic, sophisticated poses when white soul/grunge bands like Nickelback are topping the charts with self-hating sincerity? If only it were 1985, Rialto would be one of the top bands, vying with Japan and Wall of Voodoo for the limelight. Maybe I should say Spandau Ballet or Duran Duran, whom they resemble more. (Today they're compared with Pulp, but, musically they're not that close. Lyrically - "When We're Together," with it's voyeuristic cool, could be a Pulp song.) Rialto write peerless anthems - "Untouchable," "Shatterproof," "Anything Can Happen" - for the forgotten, the well dressed and misunderstood. This cd sees them loosen up a little bit and rock a little harder.I love this kind of music, and Louis Eliot was born to be a hitmaker. I don't know any band that produces never-fail hooks like Rialto. They deserve to be big, in any era. Buy this splendid album, and their first one too."

Beautiful, melodramatic Euro pop

Brian C. Taylor | Tallahassee, FL USA | 09/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not sure what else to say besides the title. Rialto reminds me a bit of Pulp and Suede, but with more sense of melody and melodrama than the aforementioned. There are also some pretty strong elements of 80's British pop (a hint of Depeche Mode, a whiff of Spandau Ballet, even a tinge of Madness). Okay, that's what the music sounds like. But the songs are very catchy, stylish and emotional, and very addicting. While they obviously have a number of influences, I don't think their music sounds like any other band's. I really love this CD and their first CD, and I'm not that big into the Brit-pop thing."

Splendid

Robert T. L. Chang | Sunnyvale, CA, USA | 06/16/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I liked the first album, and the first song, Monday Morning, was nothing short of a masterpiece: emotional, heartbreaking, and devastating. The rest of the album was good, in a "tip of the hat to the Beatles" kind of way, but completely overshadowed by the brilliance of Monday Morning.With this new album, Rialto discovered mystery, vengeance, betrayal, murder, and a fast getaway car. Musically, the melody and arrangement is super cool--a heavily retro new wave sound of the mid-eighties thing, but with enough 21st century electronic music idioms to satisfy current electronic music fans. If I had to name likely influences, I'd say The Stone Roses, Pet Shop Boys, and New Order. In fact, the theme of this album is very much like Pet Shop Boys's first album--crime, murder, passion, and getaway cars speeding in the night.Buy it. It's worth every penny."