Jerry Lardieri - vox/guitar
Mark Wright - guitar
Matt Horutz - drums
Steve Hass - bass/vox

Combining American and English influences, The Brixton Riot fuses elements of 70's power-pop and punk, 80's jangle-rock and 90's indie rock into a sound that is both familiar and distinct. The Replacements, Big Star and The Jam represent only a small fraction of the band's influences.

Their debut EP, Sudden Fiction, was recorded over two Saturdays by Don Sternecker (The Feelies, Luna, The Figgs) at Mixolydian Studios in Lafayette, NJ in September 2007. Matt Horutz (formerly of The Love Scene) replaced original drummer Rob Silverman, who left the group in November of 2008.

The road to a follow-up to Sudden Fiction has been a long one. In 2009, the band started work on a full length record at Dave Harman's Arcade Audio. Finishing the record while maintaining a regular show schedule (and balancing both work and family lives) proved difficult and time consuming, but the group managed to track the rest of the album in their homes in the late overnight hours. The band brought in well known engineer Frank Marchand (The Thermals, Bob Mould, Calexico) to mix the record, and the completed LP - dubbed Palace Amusements as a nod to their earliest rehearsals in Asbury Park - was born. Palace Amusements will be released in early 2012 on the Modern Hymnal record label.

Press and Reviews


Mercury Lounge (11/17/08)
Asbury Lanes (07/09/2010)

Sudden Fiction Review Clips


Here are some of the nice things people have said about Sudden Fiction:


"Each song on this EP is a gem...I can't wait for the full length." - Powerpopaholic


"...melding jangly rock and a little bit of country influence, with nods to later-era Replacements, Buffalo Tom, the Lemonheads and maybe a little Teenage Fanclub...no matter what you want to call them, though, there are some damn catchy songs on here that make this an interesting debut and a band I'd like to hear more from again soon! MTQ=5/5" - IndiePages.com


"...reminiscent of The Replacements and fellow Jerseyites The Smithereens... Really good stuff, and here's looking forward to a full-length." - AbsolutePowerPop


"...pop-smart 70's power-pop/ jangley, indie, garagish rockers that write distinctive melodies without selling themselves out... Hooky bits of pop punk (the good stuff) run rampant through all the tunes on "Sudden Fiction"..." - Jersey Beat


"Wow…only 5 songs by this NJ quartet but they are 5 damn good songs! They sound like a perfect mixture of the guts n' determination of The Jam (or The Clash) mixed with the vulnerability of say, The Replacements. "Battle of the Band" is one of my songs of the year so far but all 5 tunes here are well done. Can't wait for the full-length!" - Dagger


"...These guys LOVE their record collections and this EP is not just promising, it’s quality is already *there*. VERY Highly Recommended!" - Not Lame