Sometimes it’s all in the name.

And for a group of indie-rockers from working-class Hamilton who were looking to cut their first EP, Young Rival seemed to fit their new outlook on music better than The Ride Theory.

“We’d been together as The Ride Theory for about four years,” said Young Rival bassist John Smith, who joins his bandmates Aaron D’Alesio (singer/guitarist), Noah Fralick (drums) and Kyle Kuchmey (guitar) on stage at Logan’s Pub this Friday (Oct. 10).

“We had all just graduated from post-secondary school and we sort of had this renewed sense of energy towards the band. We wanted to have a name that reflected that. In terms of the music or the style, it’s pretty much the same thing. It’s more just a bit of a change in terms of our commitment really.”

The sound on their debut EP, released in September, has the flavour of The Kinks and The Beatles, kind of a poppy alt-rock. Smith said they’ve heard all the comparisons and are indifferent to most of it.

“It’s usually a very organic process,” he said of the band’s songwriting. “We definitely lean that way, because that’s sort of what we all have in common, is that similar taste in music. Aaron writes a lot of the songs himself, but we’re all sort of in the same ballpark. We never try to sit down and say ‘well let’s pen a Beatles-esque song.’”

The four went looking for a producer, found one in New York, but didn’t like the clean-cut sound the sessions produced and scrapped the recordings.

They found their match in another New York producer Emery Dobyns (Patti Smith, Antony and the Johnstons).

“Our manager had known Emery for awhile and she sent some tracks to him,” said Smith.

“We had a phone conversation with him and he really seemed on the same page. He wanted to capture that same live style of recording – it’s definitely our strongest front I guess you could say. And we wanted to make an album that would reflect that.”

They recorded 14 tracks for the EP, but only released six and have since written about 20 new songs and counting for an as-yet unscheduled full album. They’re shooting for the first half of 2009 for a release date, said Smith.

Currently on the western swing of their cross-country tour, the group has had a good response to its upstart live shows.

Smith said the band is proud of its working-class roots, even if it’s something he can’t easily define.

“It’s a very blue-collar city. And there’s a style of music that kind of goes together with that hard-working type of life. When we were in Detroit I drew lots of comparisons. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it was very similar there.”

Logan’s Pub is at 1821 Cook St. Opening act is The Laundronauts, a local Victoria rock band who play in matching suits. Doors open at 9 p.m. and tickets are available at the door.

patrickb@vicnews.com