GLASGOW… for years it’s been a venerable hotbed of rock and roll talent. From the likes of Primal Scream, Camera Obscura and Glasvegas, the city has given birth to some of the biggest, best rock and alternative bands in the UK and beyond.
Now, hoping to add their name to that illustrious list, is Secret Motorbikes. Their new release Rum Punch is an interesting listen that gives them a leg up into the business. But it’s not quite as simple as that, then again, what ever is.
Formed in Glasgow in 2012, the band has gone through a progression and maturation in the interim two years. Rum Punch is their third release and first fully-fledged album. Their earlier work was much more hard rock and metal based. This time, however, it’s all gone a bit soft.
And, it can’t be stressed enough, it’s all for the better. Coming in at ten tracks on the button, Rum Punch is a window into a band who seem to have made their minds up as to who and what they want to be.
Treading in the footsteps of the great names that have gone before them, there is something distinctly Glaswegian about this group. Perhaps it’s the familiar style with which they attack the garage and grungy surf rock style. An unnerving, brooding malice bubbles just beneath the surface.
This tendency to keep the listener slightly on edge does nothing but fuel the interest in the group and the album as a whole. Tracks like ‘All Over Again’ and ‘The Blue Room’ are hard-hitting as they are thought-provoking. This is indie rock with a conscience but never, ever preachy.
Dripping with a style of their own, Rum Punch is an interesting piece of work. What should and could easily be dismissed as yet another indie release from a band destined to pub gig for all eternity is actually a much deeper, almost cerebral album. Definitely a dark horse gem that’s just waiting to be discovered, it will be interesting to see what the future has in store for these young guns.
(Get it at Secret Motorbikes’ bandcamp site)
