Album Review: Eight Rounds Rapid - "Love Your Work"

 

Existing in a weird area where the cut and thrust of pub rock meets the icy steel of post-punk, Canvey Island's Eight Rounds Rapid are certainly an intriguing proposition. Having broken on to the scene in 2013 with the patchy but promising Lossleader album, they really hit their stride with 2017's Objet d'Art which had me anticipating this, their third effort, with some excitement.

The sly humour of You Wait (seemingly about pretending you're not in when someone you don't like tries to call you) eases you in gently before the spiky riff and shouted vocals of Passive Aggressive kick this one into gear properly like a white knuckle ride down the A127 with the police on your tail before crashing to a halt in a wail of feedback with what sounds like two wide boys arguing over a bank job gone wrong. The low-slung boogie of Love Don't adds a bit more melodicness into the equation although the high-pitched vocals take a bit of getting used to on this one. Thankfully Letter drags things back on track with a moody bass-led sound which sees the band doing their trademark "Dr Feelgood meets PIL" sound with aplomb. The schizophrenic nature of their sound is reinforced again when the Lydon style sarcastic drone of Future Estates gives way to the low-slung boogie of Black Tide and Tricks.

If I have a slight complaint about Love Your Work, it's that it feels a bit more disjointed than Objet d'Art did - I can't quite put my finger on it but somehow the songs on that record did seem to hold together slightly better as a whole than the ones here do. But it's still a good effort from the angular strut of Eating to the almost psychedelic Mirror which shows a hitherto unseen side to their output and maybe shows something they could explore a little more on future releases. 

Overall while it's not quite up to the standard of Objet d'Art, Love Your Work is still a strong effort from Eight Rounds Rapid with plenty to enjoy on it. You can download it and stream a couple of tracks on the group's Bandcamp page.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Garbage Days Revisited #67: Jason & The Scorchers - "Still Standing" (1986)

Image
  "And though you are so far away, ten thousand miles of sorrow/This prison cannot, will not kill our blessed free tomorrow"  - Jason & The Scorchers  - Good Things Come To Those Who Wait Like a lot of Britrockers my age, it's probably Ginger Wildheart 's fault that I became a Jason & The Scorchers fan. They're a band who the G-man has never made any secret of his admiration for and the Wildhearts even covered the Scorchers classic White Lies  as a B-side to Anthem  many years ago. Most people who've heard them will happily tell you that the group's 1983 EP Fervor  and their 1985 debut full length*  Lost & Found  are classics of the cowpunk genre, the perfect missing link between Johnny Cash and the Ramones and you can add me to that list as well. The follow-up, 1986's Still Standing though? Now that one seems to be a bit more divisive. And that's why it's the one we're covering here on Garbage Days Revisited... (* - well, sort
Read more

Album Review: Steve Vincent - "Recovered From My Past"

Image
  Best known as the frontman of Brit sleaze perennials Paradise Alley, this is the first solo album from Steve Vincent. I have to be honest, Steve's day job band are one of those who I've heard of but don't recall hearing anything by but the general signs here appeared to be promising with a guest list including the Wildhearts' Danny McCormack, ex-Dolls and current Mike Monroe guitarist Steve Conte and McCormack's old Main Grains bandmate (along with several others) Ben Marsden. The first thing to be aware of here though is that if you're expecting a Soho sleaze by numbers affair then you might just be in for a bit of a surprise. If anything, Recovered From My Past  sails closer to the shores of power pop or the vintage strain of '80s Brit-glam (the Babysitters, Soho Roses, Torme, Marionette etc) with a healthy dash of early Hanoi Rocks in there as well. Certainly the harmonica honking likes of Yesterday's Man , Last Train To Babylon  and Can't Bring
Read more

Album Review: The Wannabes - "Monster Beach"

Image
The Wannabes are the musical brainchild of Nottingham resident Wayne Zenith and from looking at the guy's  Bandcamp page , I think it's fair to say he's a somewhat prolific feller with over 50 releases under various incarnations on there. Musically, as the title and artwork probably suggest, it's pretty straightforward Ramones style three-chord headbanger territory (including a competent cover of Rockaway Beach ) with a touch of the Cramps' gleefully sicko gorehound tendencies as songs with titles such as I Was There At The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Stuff Cindy In The Incinerator  suggest. There's a few little tricks in there to ensure this doesn't fall into one trick pony territory though with the keyboards over the top actually adding a bit of a '60s Nuggets  style feel to some of the songs especially opener Somehow  which even has an extended piano-led break in the middle - brave move but it works. The more moody mid-paced Drag You Down  (whic
Read more