ROCOCO � �ROCOCO� (13-track debut album)
(�Best played at � of your stereo amplifier�s full volume capacity� the CD sleeve advises. Pah, I don�t think so� thump it to the max!)
Irony�s alive and it lives in Croydon. Here are 13 tracks so lushly crammed with synths, samples, drum loops scratching, brass and mournful yet heavenly vocals from Rococo it�s refreshingly heartening, the irony lying in the closing track �It�s On� when Jas Searles laments �Someone said dance was dead.� Therein that sentiment is where Jas and her techno-tronic husband Matt come in to stir some originality into the contemporary dance scene with vigour, as this �kind of� debut album of theirs stands firm in being a captivating marriage of post-modern style with tasteful retro substance, and thus one non-refusable proposition.
You can also fall in love with four of the most special tracks on this album on the two-piece�s debut EP-release, on which you�ll find my fave dance track since primitive man first attempted the hop-skip-jump, the amazing �Old Skool� tune.
Back to this release though, �Ground Zero� provides a stunning introduction to Rococo�s simple intention to revolutionalise cross-genre music, obsessed as they are with all sorts. Looping a perfect club beat and subtle techno trance over piano and an ambient jazz atmosphere, Jas� swooning vox ponder �Perhaps we should start over now we�re older?� �Bigger Than Soul� has Jas� flute pitched into a funkier foray with a sublimely warm temperament. This is perfect music for a perfect Sunday in a picturesque back garden of a pretty London suburb at the height of a stress-free summer. That�s this band�s stronghold� they have an uncanny knack of presenting a sumptuous, unique tune that�s so chilled and relaxing you are a fool if you waste your hard-earned cash on seeing councillors and therapists to de-stress your mind, body and soul. Here is the answer, here is the music.
And yet the short-and-sinister �Hello, Dave?� will catch you unaware, a bleak yet quirky sample-driven track inspired by Papa Lazarou from TV�s �The League Of Gentlemen,� a show they are obsessed with. So Rococo please themselves in their songs and are as unpredictable as The National Lottery, which is rare in itself when so many bands are perpetually conscious of what others are going to think of them if they do something a lil off-kilter or different. Rococo love taking risks and show off their humour into the bargain, diving into the more upbeat fun of �Me, My Drums and You� with zestful verve, approximately 2,453 beats-per-minute away from the previous track and coolly featuring a sample from 80�s movie �Some Kind Of Wonderful.� �Simple� likewise is propelled by a fast beat yet kept grounded by Jas� sexy and soulfully sung �I guess I�m scared of getting old� confession.
Constant changes in musical direction and tone also see in the brilliance of �Ginger Biscuits,� an evocative, instrumental track with a reserved funky piano melody being over-run by further impro jazz to result in an unforgettable piece of music that should have been used in �The Road To Perdition� movie� it�s just got that bar-side Gangsta saddled feel to it, complete with a �What is this music?� question of reciprocation.
I could tell you what this music is - and feel that I should� especially once Worship Music�s orchestral harmony submits to space-age intrigue and Mrs. Searles purrs �Let�s change the record and play something else.� She isn�t downplaying their music though, no, but other pointless bands� music.
Life�s too short to waste your time with same-old same-old bands. Not when this intoxicating and intelligent BBQ of originality is quietly proud of itself and what it�s modestly achieving.
To simplify affairs to the lowest denomination of understandable prose:
The future of crossover dance music is bright, because it is here and it is now and it is found beneath the sultry guise of ROCOCO. So go loco. (STEVE RUDD)
SEE WOT ROCOCO CAN DO FOR YOU� www.freewebs.com/rococoband
E-mail em� [email protected] Tel em� Matt, on 07941 785195 Write to em�
ROCOCO, FLAT 5, MORETON COURT, 23 MORETON ROAD, S. CROYDON, SURREY, CR2 7DN