Album Review by Adam Foster
Funnily enough, it ain’t rocket science. Take a pinch of White Stripes, wrap it up in Stranglers, add a touch of the Faces, and a little bitty bit of The Damned. It’s a pretty strong formula, after all: and it makes for good, pulse-quickening stuff.
The problem is that it’s a good deal more difficult to write memorable songs than it would appear. After several listens, only two songs really stick in the mind – the Supergrass-like RUN LIKE A GUN, which was a recent single, and CRAZY, memorable more for its frenetic organ work than for any other quality.
That is not to say that rest of the album should be written off. There are some great moments while you are listening: BEING FOLLOWED sounds like The Attractions fronted by Jack White, while the ambitious TOMORROW’S SOUNDTRACK FOR TODAY’S SWINGING GENERATION (at almost seven minutes, nearly as long as its title) is a Peter Gunn-like instrumental led by Yamaha rather than Fender, and reminiscent of the type of jazz-punk (if such a term exists) that was attempted by the Stranglers on tracks such as WALK ON BY. Unfortunately, you can’t remember either of these tracks within seconds of their end – let alone the less distinguished songs collected here (stand up GOING AWAY and ECONOMIC DECLINE). Simply, Rocket Science haven’t developed the skill of writing a hook.
Ultimately, then, the album is like the mythical poison always used in murder mysteries: in the short term, it might cause the heart to explode through over-excitement, but it leaves the body quickly and without trace.
