The Rifle

The Tucson Edge ran a poll for one week to find out which bands in Tucson are the current favorites, and get an idea of some of the up-and-coming groups. There were over 4,000 votes issued. Removing duplicates and bogus postings by the incurably immature left over 500 real Tucson bands to vote on.

POLL RESULTS:
Running neck and neck for the most votes were Adara Rae & the Homewreckers and Ashbury, with Ashbury topping out at just over 400 votes. Next in line were The Rifle and Pipelights, who had between 100 and 200 votes each.

The Rifle is a local band led by front woman Nelene Deguzman. Her band mates Ryan Kruger and Randy Rowland join forces to create the ethereal music bed that houses Deguzman’s sweet vocals. The Rifle is mostly known as an indie rock or alternative rock band. Ironically, some of the mentioned classic rock sounds can be heard within The Rifle’s music. The ambient tunes might remind a listener of the psychedelic sounds of 70s acid rock, with vocals that sound like Carole King at times, if you’re old enough to know who she is. Listen to “Kill Your Darlings” and see if you don’t hear Neil Young in the vocals there. Keep your eye out for The Rifle at local venues and decide for yourself what this new brand of indie rock brings out in you. - The Tucson Edge

The Rifle’s profile reads, “Making music (secretly) in Tucson”, but after listening to Rib to Rib, the secret will soon be out about Nelene DeGuzman and her
writing and musicianship.

Sparse is how I would describe this record. Lo-fi is another way to characterize this blues-in-nature record. Also, there’s a wonderful aura of ambiance to each of the songs on this 7 track CD. In fact, the slight waterfall behind a couple of the tracks adds a very nice serene vibe and perfectly compliments the vocals.

“Kill your darlings”, the first track, could have been recorded at the Crossroads. The vibrato guitar and beat of a tambourine captures the Memphis sound and The Rifle’s voice resonates far above the music even though it is light and airy. This is one of the things I truly enjoy about the music: the tug of war continues throughout the entire album and little by little it burrows into your ears – and then The Rifle’s lyrics find its target, your soul.

On, “The ground”, harmonica takes the lead in front of the train-like rhythm of the song Again, the storytelling is great, and that’s good, because truth be told, the music isn’t all that complicated, and it doesn’t have to be. There’s a quiet contemplation to her song structure, and she masterfully uses that quality to its fullest extent.

“Down deep down” is funeral dirge for the deepest part of her soul. Moody and bleak, it is awesome. “Rib to rib”, the title track, is a heart-to-heart talk while lying in bed with someone and, well, it isn’t going so well…

“Settle down” “Albany” and “Delta of Venus”, finish out the album and are all wonderful tunes – and rather than go into details, I’ll simply recommend you take a listen.

This just hit me: There’s a Kim Deal haunting quality to The Rifle’s vocals and I believe that is why I dig the sound so much. That, and it’s a pretty damn good album. Listen to The Rifle and her Rib to Rib EP here. - Yab Yum West

This sweltering, slow-moving “Delta of Venus” by the Tucson artist known only as Rifle just might be my personal song of the summer. I love love love it. Jazzy, provocative, and minimalist. Listen to “Delta of Venus” and you’ll totally get what I’m saying. With an un-google-able name, we can only hope that “Delta of Venus” is only one of a plethora of tracks to emerge from this artist. We’ll definitely pay attention to see if the mysterious music-makers put out more tunes. This first track will have everyone wanting more. Listen here. - Yab Yum West