Grabbing At a Distant Star –  Electric Radio Kings (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

I sometimes wonder if the spirit of rock and roll hasn’t got a bit lost as modern bands try to out technical each other, out volume each other, to be tougher, harder, more dangerous than each other. It seems the more they try the further away from rock and roll they get. Chuck Berry isn’t an icon because he was loud or unnecessarily detailed in his approach, he is an icon because he was the coolest cat on the block. That says more about rock and roll than any wall of Marshall amps or 20 minute drum solo.

Electric Radio Kings understand this all too well. Picture the scene. The club is full, the band is in full flight and the night is young and full of potential. There’s a guy down the front making mental notes of the guitar chops and chord progressions, there’s always one but he’s okay, and whilst he is dreaming of getting up on that stage one day, all of the cool kids are concentrating on something else…the groove. They are boogieing the night away, getting lit, getting loaded, getting hot and sweaty, bumping hips and looking to get off with each other. That’s the spirit of rock and roll right there. Low slung guitars, re-appropriated blues licks, the poise and the pose in equal measure, the spirit of Chuck Berry and Jack Daniels working in unison.

The band on the stage in this scenario, well, that could easily be Electric Radio Kings. They groove and grind, they growl and prowl, they understand the balance of melody and infectiousness with musical muscle and a gritty edge, that rock can have pop sensibility, that no nonsense four to the floor rock and roll is still alive. It just needs a touch of sparkle and a quick polish now and again but essentially it is still more than fit for purpose.