The Rascals • Rascalize
Wirral, you know the peninsula in the north west of England, is the home of indie three piece The Rascals. Who are the Rascals I hear you shout, well remember five piece The Little Flames with Eva Petersen on vocals and Mat Gregory on guitar, well forget these two and think Greg Mighall on drums, Joe Edwards on bass and Miles Kane on guitar and vocals. Reunite these three and you form the Rascals.
The bands debut release ‘Rascalize’ takes some influence from the bands presence in Liverpool, while also combines a few pop melodies, a sideline of psychedelic punches and some dark soul elements. This release should have a warning label: - ATTEMPTING TO IMAGINE THE SOUND CREATED MAY CAUSE BRAIN HAEMORRHAGING AND FATAL ATTACK OF THE HEART.
From the opening of the flat flowing and indie rocking ‘Rascalize’ with its “all aboard our adventure” chorus this album gives an unnerving sense to a listener. Expectations for this album were fairly high, but disappointment began to sink in as the madness continued. Towards the end a freaky sensation sweeps over the tunes, a psychedelic hover sneaks though ‘I'd Be Lying to You’, washes at times over ‘Freakbeat Phantom’ and sneaks through ‘Stockings to Suit’ with the hypnotic rhythms.
Bond, James Bond has had a few of them, but this ‘Bond Girl’ is two and a half minutes long, has an electric sideline and a pounding baseline. On the other hand, some tracks take on a more light-hearted persona and ‘Fear Invicted Into the Perfect Stranger’ is one of these tracks, at least for the majority of its duration. The album also has slightly deep and darker numbers such as ‘Does Your Husband Know That You're on the Run’. The beginning wobble is incredibly intense so watch out for the ears; the electronica that seems to waver in at times doesn’t help either.
So what to make of this record is difficult and brain numbingly painful so I’ll leave it up to you.