RKC - BRITISH PLASTIC
The Sycamore Club

Formed by, and mostly consisting of, Adam Ficek of Babyshambles (but don’t let that put you off!), Roses Kings Castles offer up a selection of catchy, infectiously cool indie pop. From opener These Are The Days to the funky I Can’t Say, the moodier Kittens Become Cats, riff-driven, vintage new wave flavoured People and Places, fuzz-flavoured avant-punk Seeds of Moscow, and the oddball Cockroach – a slice of animal noise infected punk, this is a pretty agreeable mix of retro-electro, indie rock and pop, splattered with avant-garde touches. Fireck’s voice might not quite be up to much, but it somehow matches the music, giving an intimate, down-to-earth sense of honesty. Only the rather plodding If the Rain Comes didn’t really grab me.

If you are a fan of late Seventies / early Eighties experimental New Wave, this is going to feel like an album that you must’ve missed at the time. That’s no bad thing, really. There’s nothing on this album that’s particularly groundbreaking, but it most likely doesn’t aspire to be – instead, this is a strong selection of tracks that are as suited to dance floor grooving as they are to late night intimate listening. Impressive.

DAVID FLINT

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