Blurring the lines between 80’s sonic nostalgia and futuristic pop-rock, Rocky Gibraltar covers a lot of ground, yet does so in a very unfussy and uncluttered way. It takes a touch of New Romantic sheen, pop smarts, ambient electronica, blends them seamlessly together and then throws in some sassy rock grooves to power everything along.
But the fact that you can’t see the join between genre or era, sound or style is what makes the song so wonderful to behold. It is what makes it a song of the here-and-now and its own unique creation rather than just another half-hearted attempt at plagiarism and plunder.
Rocky Gibraltar is a song with mass appeal but it is also off-beat enough to prick the ears of the more discerning pop picker or the underground club goer. Commerciality meets cultishness, pop potential meets cool credibility. How great is that?
