The Rumble Strips "Girls & Weather" LP Out This Week To Rave Reviews

In ‘Girls and Weather’, The Rumble Strips have recorded a truly classic debut album. With their somewhat eccentric origins in Devon, the four young men from Tavistock have fashioned a set of songs steeped with huge, life-affirming choruses all awash with the optimism of youth. This is a band whose sound and look is entirely their own: thundering drums and piano, brass to stir the soul and singer Charlie Waller’s voice – a thing of rare beauty and power suggesting the arrival of a genuine new star.

Among the band’s most passionate fans is producer du jour, Mark Ronson. Having heard Rumble Strips’ spine tingling reworking of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’, Ronson fell in love with the band. He promptly invited Charlie to sing lead vocals at his acclaimed BBC Electric Proms performance at the London Roundhouse last year, with Charlie’s performance widely declared the highlight of the evening. Further guest appearances have followed as Ronson and Charlie’s relationship has blossomed, with the most recent show seeing Charlie being flown out to Coachella to sing with Mark.

”Girls and Weather” opens with Charlie hollering as if his life depended on it, “I ain’t got no soul”. What follows is 12 songs bristling with energy, frantic rhythms, wide-eyed yearning and certainly no little soul.

Indeed, the Young Soul Rebel spirit of the singles ‘Alarm Clock’ and ‘Motorcycle’ is evident on the album, but the record also takes in a range of less expected (but no less profound) influences: the gorgeous harmonies are born out of the band’s love of 1950s doo-wop, whilst the epic nature of Charlie’s song writing recalls the oddball genius of both Adam Ant and Queen (as imagined by the Stax house band).

Elsewhere, the brass on ‘Oh Creole’ is like a rousing, doom laden Van Morrison classic, whilst the E Street holler of ‘Hate Me (You Do)’ owes it’s anthemic quality to Tom Gorbutt’s inspired saxophone opening. Clocking in under two minutes, August single ‘Girls and Boy in Love’ is all hand clap rhythms, Motown piano and gorgeous, bitter sweet melodies - a festival anthem for certain.

Recalling the achingly close, three part harmonies of Rubber Soul era Beatles, ‘Don’t Dumb Down’ is a scathing tale of faking to impress. Key lyrics: “You don’t come from London do you? / But, sometimes you sound like you do / What the hell is that all about?”

The album closes with arguably it’s strongest moment. Built around a huge, Talking Heads-esque piano rhythm, ‘Hands’ is an extraordinary piece of song writing. Charlie’s almost spoken word delivery is like an anglicised Springsteen, as he talks of finding himself, “on the hard shoulder of the motorway / to my feet I tried to complain / but I don’t think they were listening”, as the song build to almighty crescendo.

The Rumble Strips are a truly special group: Pure, sad and romantic. Theirs are songs that strike a chord with the masses, whilst remaining enigmatic and standing alone from the crowd.

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Spin Magazine (Aug 08) 4 Stars : “Crushing angst gets a bright, shiny makeover at the hands of this British foursome. Powered by blaring horns reminiscent of vintage ska and soul, Charlie Waller could be Billy Bragg's twitchy offspring. “

Alternative Press (Aug 08) 4 Stars : “The sound is Wreckless Eric doing Memphis soul”

The Rumble Strips US Fall Tour
Fri Oct 2nd - Princeton , NJ
Sat Oct 4 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
Sun Oct 5 - Washington, DC - Black Cat Backstage
Mon Oct 6 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
Tue Oct 7 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
Wed Oct 8 - Orlando, FL - The Social
Fri Oct 10 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
Sat Oct 11 - Austin, TX - The Parish Room
Tue Oct 14 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
Wed Oct 15 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
Thu Oct 16 - San Francisco, CA - Pop Scene
Sat Oct 18 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
Sun Oct 19th – Chop Suey – Seattle, WA
Mon Oct 20th – Media Club – Vancouver, BC
Thu Oct 23 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
Fri Oct 24 - Chicago, IL - The Abbey Pub
Oct 25 Sat- Madison, WI - Club 770
Mon Oct 27 – Newport, KY – The Southgate House
Fri Oct 31 – Cambridge, MA – TT the Bears
Sat Nov 1 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom