Since Athens’ band The Ridges released its self-titled 2011 EP, hungry music fans have been waiting for a full album. But a year after recording the new tracks, the band is asking fans to wait.
“(The album) is all ready in terms of its parts, but at the end of the day, the final product we produced isn’t quite up to the level that we want to release (it)at,” said Victor Rasgaitis, front man for The Ridges. “We want to make a record that isn’t something we could do ourselves. … We’re looking to pull the trigger on the band."
The Ridges returns to Athens on Saturday alongside Indigo Wild and The Weight Of Whales with a performance at Casa Nueva, 6 W. State St., which has historically been a show at near capacity each time they performed.
Andrew Poulsen, banjo player for The Ridges, said the band has refined its sound dramatically since its first album—through recording sessions and extensive tours out of state—that the band’s fans need to see a live show to get the full experience.
“The drums are so much more bombastic and our energy in general has been amped so high. … We’re a band that loves the live show—to stomp and scream and jump,” Poulsen said. “Our sound has evolved to being a full-on rock band."
Now that The Ridges have spent a year refining that sound, the next step is to continue touring and hopefully get some music into the hands of some higher-ups in the music industry, Rasgaitis said.
The band recently opened for Ra Ra Riot, which Rasgaitis said has always been a dream of his, and with the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati in September, he said he is looking for more exposure.
“The album is burning a hole in our pocket … but we want to do it right and we’re keeping our options open,” Rasgaitis said. “We’re looking for the right people to make the album that we set out to make.”
He added that one of the hardest parts of recording is trying to transfer what the band does on stage to tape. Of course, Rasgaitis said, even with all this change, the band has never lost sight of its original goals.
“We always wanted to do everything our favorite indie rock bands do—all the energy, all the showmanship, all of the excitement of a really sick indie rock show but without all the electric stuff,” he said. “We want to do it with all acoustic instruments.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
