"Though Riviera has a slight sheen compared to LL, the album's best moments marry this newfound polish with the scuzzy, freewheeling instincts that made the Hellp's early work so compelling. Raucous, Deerhunter-indebted "Revenge of the Mouse Diva" explodes with thunderous drums and a staticky synth crackle; the track has all the foreboding energy of electricity gathering before a desert storm."
"It's stupid, but it's hard to stay too mad at a track so ecstatic and giddily unserious. Occasionally, though, polish appears to override passion. While "Doppler," a nostalgic track with acoustic guitars and languid synths, contains some of the Hellp's most bittersweet lyrics about the passage of time, it's so muted and lowkey you fear it could put someone to sleep behind the wheel."
Riviera carries a slight sheen compared to LL while retaining scuzzy, freewheeling instincts. The album's best moments pair newfound polish with raucous energy. "Revenge of the Mouse Diva" explodes with thunderous drums and a staticky synth crackle, evoking electricity gathering before a desert storm. "Live Forever" teeters between dud and banger but redeems itself through airhorn-like synths and Cnossen's smooth vocals, yielding ecstatic, unserious joy. Occasionally polish overrides passion; "Doppler" uses acoustic guitars and languid synths to deliver bittersweet lyrics about time yet remains muted and lowkey. Interpolations and references—like John Denver lines, Karen Kilimnik, and Californian character features—anchor Riviera's nostalgic, cinematic optimism.
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