The new album from Rocket 808 is full of the sort of music that would have been the perfect thing to soundtrack Wild at Heart (1990). The tunes here are throwback gems, and prefab versions of Fifties hipster rock. Comparisons abound in the press materials about Link Wray and Suicide and it would be silly to deny those references.
"The Flickering Sign" is languid and mysterious, so much so that you can practically hear the neon fizzing off a roadside sign in the distance, while "Ghost Rider" is a lot better. Full of bad intent, and a healthy adulation of whatever the hell Alan Vega came up with decades ago, Rocket 808 make this kind of thing sound fresh again. Rocket 808 is John Schooley on guitar, drum machines, and vocals, with assistance on certain tracks. "Boot City" is just enough like Jesus & Mary Chain circa "Sidewalking" as to be recommended, while the title cut here is even better, flashes of old Cabaret Voltaire peeking through the greaser and hot rod stuff. Rocket 808 strike the right tone on lots of this, and if something like "Digital Billboards" seems like all style, I think that's the point. Rocket 808 are whittling down things to the absolutely coolest ingredients and then revving the engine up.
Rocket 808 is out on Friday via 12XU.
More details on the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Frostline Shake]