The Rocks: Can You Hear Me?
James Taylor, singer of The Rocks, is in pain. Pain of quite a high degree, it would seem, judging by the flayed vocals which drag themselves gratingly over the most uninspired riff to have emerged in 2004.
Although 'Can You Hear Me?' opens with an energetic flurry of drums and punk-fuelled, rabid rhythm guitars, it soon loses its way, if it ever had one, in a repetitive dirge.
Initially wailing in a fantastically visceral way, as the track progresses we encounter Taylor wailing in a slightly less fantastically visceral way and, finally, in a terribly boring way. About two minutes in, they metamorphose into Ash for approximately four chord changes, then revert back to tuneless screaming.
For a band bursting with youthful vitality and wonderfully drunken vocals on earlier single 'Celeste', this release a) makes no sense and b) is a huge disappointment; a narrow, thin, formulaic (lack of) effort.
BUT!
Don't give up on The Rocks just yet. Get hold of track 'Eyes Wide Open' to hear what they're really made of - thirsty, evil guitars, drawling yelps and sexy, sleazy slow bits. However, right at this very moment, The Rocks happen to be a very good band masquerading as, well, a very crap one. Don't be fooled...
Find related articles: rhythm guitars, youthful vitality, track eyes, metamorphose, chord changes.
