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Brighton trio, The Rocket Dolls, return with their sophomore album ‘The Art Of Disconnect’, an album that certainly lives up to the “difficult second album” adage, although it must be noted, through no fault of the band themselves. Having fallen foul to the PledgeMusic fiasco, somehow the trio of Nikki Smash (vocals/lead guitar), Benji Knopfler (drums/backing vocals) and Joe Constable (bass/backing vocals) managed to pick themselves back up, delay the album and finance a world tour around the new release date… only for the shit to hit the fan as the world as we know it pulled down the shutters. If The Rocket Dolls were a Fast Show character, they would be Unlucky Alf, times three.
But messrs Smash, Knopfler and Constable are made of sterner stuff, and safe in the knowledge that this, their most ambitious release to date, was something rather special indeed, the trio set about spreading the word with some retina-blitzing music videos as well as immobilising a small army on social media. Given the album title, it’s ironic that it’s through the art of connecting that the album has seen the light of day.
The Rocket Dolls are a bit of a conundrum though. They do fall into the parameters of The New Wave Of Classic Rock, purely on the amount of years that they have been a band, but they are pretty far removed from the classic rock genre itself. No Led Zeppelin blues-rock influences here. If anything, the influence comes from across the Atlantic, through bands such as Seether and anything grunge related. Listen to the epic title track (complete with lush string arrangements) and it’s immediate successor ‘Enthusiasm and Fumes’, and it’s hard not to imagine these ringing out in amphitheatres across America on a Shinedown triple bill. Likewise, the crunching ‘It Comes At A Price’ is a great mixture of low-tuned bite and commercial vibes, perfect for American rock radio. ‘The Grip’ begins with a fantastic glam rock drum sound from brother Knopfler which is quickly jumped upon by Joe Constable and his fat bass licks. Nikki Smash delivers a rather nifty vocal performance on a melodic, fist-pumping, genre-crossing banger that would go down just as well at Reading and Leeds Festivals as it would at Download.
‘The Clear Light Of Self Hatred’ is all about the drums from Knopfler, as well as the punky gang-vocals, on a track that any fan of Foo Fighters should dig. The first half of the album ends with a heartfelt tale of struggle from Smash on ‘Grin & Bare It’. The string arrangements return and work well alongside Smash’s gritty, authentic vocals on a track which, at times, has a Placebo-meets-The Manics feel to it. ‘Who I’ve Become’ has a lot going on during its four minutes, and each listen brings something new. The vocal harmonies in the background are especially a nice touch. The harmonies hang around for ‘Habit Machine’, and with the string and piano arrangements, they bring a haunting, mysterious air to what is one of the many highlights on the album. ‘Slow Motion Ruin’ delves into Soundgarden/Alice In Chains territory, mainly because of the pacing and the sense of impending doom. The intro to ‘Blueprint For A Breakdown’ gives the neck muscles a good workout, before the band tone it down on the Weezer-esque ‘If I Could Trade Me’, where the subtle hand-claps and vocalizing work to great effect.
The final few moments on the album begin with some neat effects on the crunching ‘Straight Jacket’, a track which highlights the growth from The Rocket Dolls over the last few years. Ending on the gentler tones of the multi-faceted ‘Stubborn’, where the arrangements are simply sublime, this is as good a sophomore album as you are as likely to hear this year.
The ambition shown by The Rocket Dolls is to be marvelled at. Hopefully audiences will get the chance to witness this ambition up close and personal sometime in the near future. If the band ever manage to get to America, then they would go down the proverbial storm at festivals like Rocklahoma and Rock On The Range. Put them on a bill with acts like Godsmack, Seether, Staind and Breaking Benjamin, and sit back and watch them rack up “likes” on social media faster than some mad bint who’s lost her parrot.
‘The Art Of Disconnect’ is available May 1st, more information here.
Review – Dave
Photo Credit @tinak_photography
