The Rumble Strips – Girls And Weather

Rhianne Muir

After a somewhat unsuitably long wait, indie festival darlings The Rumble Strips have finally dished up their long awaited debut album ‘Girls and Weather’, and it is, well, not bad. The thinking man’s Ordinary Boys, the Rumble Strips’ brassy, ska infused Northern Soul is certainly fun, but is somewhat throwaway. Belting opener ‘No Soul’ and follow up ‘Alarm Clock’ more than prove that front man Charles Waller – formerly of Vincent Vincent and the Villains – is capable of conjuring up a cracking melody, but they don’t do a great deal more. Do we really need another track detailing the hardships of working life as ‘Alarm Clock’ does (Albeit with a clever metaphor)? Surely Hard-Fi laid this tiresome subject to rest long ago? Singles ‘Motorcycle,’ with its fabulous Bees-esque instrumental and ‘Girls and Boys in Love,’ are the standout tracks, and ‘Cowboy’ is certainly worth a mention, yet ultimately there is little to distinguish one track from another. Its when the band show their melancholy, vulnerable side on tracks like these and ‘Hate me (you do)’ that you can really relate to the West Country foursome, yet moments like this are few, and its far too easy to grow weary of the incessant horns that plague a record with otherwise good potential. At its worst, ‘Girls and Weather’ could be the soundtrack to a teen-flick prom, at its best, it has a great chance of reinventing an ageing genre and bringing it into the 21st century with a twist. Let’s have more of the latter please.

: 10 Oct 2007 12:04 |  Tags: Boar Music Music Review Rhianne Muir |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem