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Back to the Bright

I remember when Needles//Pins' Shamebirds album came out in 2014, it was on a lot of best of lists at the end of the year. I made a mental note to check it out..but somehow it slipped through the cracks..not sure why. So this past year they released their follow up, Good Night, Tomorrow..didn't miss the boat this time. Vancouver's Needles//Pins deliver gruff pop punk (sometimes 90's alt[ish] sometimes power popish) with boozey, heartbroken..weathered poetic lyrics. I dig. The vocals register on the higher side of the gruff spectrum with just the right amount of gravel (think Sainte Catherines/Leatherface). The music is mid to up tempo that makes ya nod your head and tap the ol' toe. After I thoroughly take in Good Night, Tomorrow I'm definitely going to take a step into the wayback machine and Shamebirds it up as well. Maybe it's not groundbreaking music but damn is it exquisite..and worth your time.

I was in superstore recently checking out the 'natural foods' aisle (for some odd reason they separate the chips that are more 'healthy', haha) and I found a bag from a manufacturer that I hadn't heard of before, Riley's. The price was fairly reasonable so I grabbed up a bag of their Kettle Cooked Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar..with "old-fashioned crunch". Cracked the bag last night and was met with the S&V fragrance that one would expect based on the flavour name. The chips are your standard mid-weight kettle cooked with a (typical) lack of the well done (brownish) chips. The malt vinegar flavour is present but not aggressive..with a slight sweetness as you may expect. They're not overly greasy and the seasoning is fairly consistent (there is the odd flavour-lacking dud, but most bags of chips have that). All around, Riley's delivers an average (somewhat run of the mill) salt & malt vinegar chip. If the price point is there and you come across a bag you might as well grab em.

Both deliver a fairly familiar product however; Needles//Pins is a must..Riley's S&MV, if the price is right go ahead.

Stay hydrated,
Marc

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