Rock music- a rather tired stagnant genre I would speculate. Either rehashing what has already gone before and not very well either or ........well doing not very much of anything . Very little gets me excited about rock music nowadays .It needs to move forward but it appears stuck , in a perpetual atrophy and well I ,ve made my point now I feel.
Retribution Gospel Choir are a rock band and to be honest they don't bring anything new to the table either. 2 Is not too surprisingly given its title their second album and may or not be a step up from their firstRetribution Gospel Choir .This is not something I can confirm one way or t,other because I've never heard it but what I can say with surety is that 2 is a big brazen confident album . It's repeat nothing original but it is for the most part crushingly entertaining in that way that loud anthemic rock music can be . The genre may be wedged in perpetual limbo but it can still be great fun.
That said it came as a shock that Alan Sparhawk of sad-core band Low was the main progenitor behind RGC, not that this stops the band rocking out most impressively at times. What is also notable is the albums brevity .Eight songs, two brief, mood-setting guitar interludes, 33 minutes and lots of breeze block crunching power chords and some squalling feedback .Eight minute epic "Electric Guitar " builds from a moody exhortation of anguished voice and sparsely strummed chords into a Crazy Horse like miasma of crusty riffs and powerhouse percussion. This is great but if the album entire did this it would rob the song of it's clout. So opener "Hide it Away " has a broad stroke chorus so utterly addictive I was singing along after roughly twenty seconds and boy did it feel good after a crappy day at work.
Talking of which "Workin Hard " has a radio hugging chorus that wouldn't shame a great rock album like R.E..M,s Document (Remastered) or Pearl Jam Ten while both "Your Bird " and "White Wolf " are more obtuse but still unreservedly addictive. The sprawling "Poor Mans Daughter " could not be more dissimilar and the discombobulated radio static of "Something's Going To Break " and the cello backed meagre heartbeat rhythms of closer "Bless Us All " showcase a band who though they might be making straight up rock music are not concerned with leaden authenticity or rock by numbers .
2 is a bold confident album not just in the music but in taking on something that appeared as tired and stale as an episode of "Last Of The Summer Wine " . Making rock albums like this nowadays is a valiant undertaking but RGC pull it off. They rock ,as I believe the saying goes. Don't believe me...look at the cover .Ice got shattered making this album.