First single from debut album by Smiths-a-like New Rhodes.
London based four piece New Rhodes release 'The History of Britain' the first single from their debut album 'Songs From the Lodge'. The single is released on October 16th, followed by the album a week later.
'The History of Britain' comes across in a similar fashion to a lecture of the same name, in that it is largely dull and prescriptive, with very few real insights or flair of its own. If Gene were the poor man's Smiths then New Rhodes are the homeless man's Gene. The Morrissey impersonations by vocalist and guitarist James fall flat, as does the rather bland formula of the music itself. A medium tempo guitar-backed jangle is adequate but nothing beyond.
The pace of 'There's A Chance That I Missed' is much more urgent, and the song opens with a decent guitar sequence, only to be weakened by the Morrissey imitator once more. Once the vocals have begun the song slows to a meandering pace, but luckily picks itself back up before too long. A much better standout song, 'There's A Chance I Missed' would have made a much stronger single choice. Final track 'I Can't Stay Too Long' is another disappointment with a riff straight from a Razorlight album track. The vocals here are less grating but overall this song is easy to forget.
The end of year report for New Rhodes would definitely read, "Could do much better if only they applied themselves".