For a while there in 2026 it seemed like you couldn’t open TikTok without being asked if you wanted to eat chips and talk shit. The simple yet cathartic idea came from the power-punk duo of Mac Rettig and Rocco Ramos, recording under the moniker Mr. Dinkles — which honestly sounds like the name of a clown with a starring role in a yet-to-be-written Stephen King novel. Move over, Pennywise.
The song was catchy and cool yet somehow my jaded brain glommed on to the idea that it had been custom built for the algorithm and I moved on. Fast forward a few months and finding myself doom-scrolling in lieu of actually watching the world burn to the ground, my ear catches the line “Why can’t you tell me what I’m doing wrong to my face.” Oh, now this is intriguing as the fuzzed-out guitar punctuates the lyrics. I look at the screen, Mr. Dinkles… wait a minute this is the eat chips band. Boy was I wrong.
I mean not actually wrong, it was the eat chips band but god-damn was I wrong to dismiss them. Oh and it turns out Mr. Dinkles was a cat, sorry Pennywise.
Alright, well let’s eat chips and talk shit.
Released as an EP on Futureless Records on June 5, 2026, R.I.P.T. proves the two-piece can both write and play. It can be easy to dismiss two-pieces as a novelty, but the power duo quickly makes their argument across five punchy, Big Muff fuzzed-out tracks that nod to a host of influences including the likes of the Dead Kennedys and New Model Army with a deep sense of southern rock.
“Socialism Ditty” is the first half of that argument. It’s funkier than it has any right to be — and it pulls that off with no bass in the room to anchor the groove, Rettig’s guitar and Ramos’s kit splitting work a whole rhythm section usually carries and somehow still finding the pocket. This is the one I’d hand a skeptic. It’s two people doing the job of four and making you forget to count. I’ve often wondered if Gen Z was going to have their Rage Against the Machine, a politically minded band that wrapped their message in a sound you could get down to. Mr. Dinkles seems to be making a case for themselves, with “Socialism Ditty” the most obvious entry.
“Letter to Elon” is the other half. It screams Rivers Cuomo — and I mean the good Rivers, the one writing songs about playing Dungeons & Dragons in his garage, before he lost the thread and started trying to sound like himself. And while the track contains all of the slightly awkward phrasing that made early Weezer so relatable, “Letter to Elon” adds an element of social awareness — “Elon, get out of my phone / Stop watching my porn!” This is where Rettig’s writing stays vulnerable in a way seemingly only available to the young while simultaneously critiquing the world around it, both done with a scalpel’s precision.
One song proves they can play. The other proves they can write. A band that only manages one is a gimmick with a good night in it. A band that does both on the same short record is just a band — and R.I.P.T. is the sound of two of them figuring out they’re the real thing.
I mentioned earlier while I loved “Eat Chips and Talk Shit” I had originally dismissed it, catching it while still deep into my own ennui about the state of current music — this is way more on me than the band, getting old is dumb. Popping over to Mr. Dinkles’ Bandcamp homepage, my mistake manifested in two sold-out vinyl pressings of R.I.P.T. Being a massive vinyl nerd, that hurt. Trust that I won’t make the same error a second time. Let me be the first to assist you in not making the same mistake.
Not ones to slow down, the band is set to release their new single “Brain” Oct. 30, and I can only hope this is the beginning of either a new EP or, dare I dream, a full album. You can pre-save “Brain” now and I’d highly encourage you to follow them on Bandcamp and every other channel they’ve got. The band is playing a series of shows and is quickly building a following, moving steadily toward critical mass. Catch them now at the small venues while you still have the chance.
Check them out: BandCamp | Instagram | TikTok
