Album Review

Rococo Rot – Instrument

• 21st Jul 2014

To Rococo Rot with their latest album have produced a work that traverses genres, wilfully taking multiple influences and recognisable styles and blending them effortlessly on a musical journey full of twists and turns across many landscapes.

Oh god, that sounded gloriously clichéd, and I really didn’t want to go there, but when an album such as Instrument, the experimental and energetic trio’s eighth full length effort, bounces around at a schizophrenic pace between kraut-rock bleeps, Whitney Houston-esque 808s, dancehall accents and the kind of emotive loucheness found within blues and jazz, to namecheck just a minuscule amount of the myriad sounds and elements present, it becomes difficult to put in layman’s terms the widespanning scope and keep a review concise.

And just as it touches so many bases, it also proves itself to be a unique collection in so many ways, not only is it a coherent and satisfying album, it also serves as something like a progressive mixtape, a collection that could easily have been culled from multiple recording artists, and despite hurtling from punk ethos to electro whig-outs and encompassing chilled Radiohead moments (once again, to name very few musical characteristics) it always seems to ebb and flow, never jarring, never removing you from the moment.

Dramatically satisfying in its creative reach, Instrument is an astounding monument to musical discovery that condenses myriad genres and years of crate-digging into just one perfect album.

Venue: Instrument
Support Band: City Slang