Review – roger the band
“Community Service Announcement”
Independent EP
“If you like funk mixed with
a bit of Frankie
Valli done in a very new millennium fashion, you'll love it!” was
the recommendation that came from Management
as a precursor to receiving the new EP from roger the band (a noun, not a
directive). So with ears salivating I headed to the PO to check out the Church
City’s new groove.
roger the band have a sound that is
described as ‘uniquely theirs’ and it is the first time for a long time that I
have had to fall back on the press to adequately describe what I am hearing.
That same press suggests that they combine funk, jazz, rock, soul and
electronica in a sound classified as ‘Neo-Bee
Gees,’ ‘New Millennium Groove’ and ‘Melodic Mayhem,’ listing stage
accompaniments of The Brain, Nancy
Vandal, pre_shrunk,
The Brown Hornet, Temporal
Lobe, dogboat and Muzzy Pep.
Six
tracks are what you get on their independent “Community Service
Announcement” EP which, basically, is all of this and more. Seven
Eight has Harry (aka HANKSTAR1) complaining that the beat is
too hard to which to dance; Hatchback has him partying in his “sick
assed Hyundai;” Desert Storm
brings out the rock whilst Disco Brain and the reprise Bomp
combines Skunkhour
and early-80s funk rock and Death Metal with a DJ! All of this features an
undeniable humour, brought to the fore in the epic Full Vinyl Jacket.
Unfingerable,
uncategorisable, inimitable… Sydney’s frank the band
was first (?) with this nomenclaturic style but 1999 SA leg National Band
Campus winners roger the band
are still out there and “Community Service
Announcement” shows that they are quite the band to watch out for!