ALBUM REVIEW: Rich Kid Express – Psychodelic

25th October 2020

 

This is very good. Listening to the first couple of tracks on this record by Rich Kid Express you feel that you’re at the end of the 80’s on the dark end of the strip, not the Poison end – the end with bands like Faster Pussycat and Junkyard.

So there’s a couple of huge ticks for ‘Get Outta My Life’ and ‘Cross the Line’ even before the wonderful ‘Do It Your Way’ kicks in on a well-worn groove with plenty of cowbell! It’s like a low-fi slowed down version of something that might grace Aerosmith’s ‘Draw the Line’ album. So far this is really ticking all the boxes.

‘Lovesick Blues’ is pretty cool too with that real first album Pussycat swagger and the title track ‘Psychodelic’ that follows has a nice harder edge. And whilst tracks like ‘See When I’m Dead’ don’t quite connect with me they’re the rare exception.

I love the old-school build up and swagger to ‘Clock strikes Four’; and the vintage feel and bubblegum sound of the Pop Rock of ‘Kaleidoscope Caravan’ – it’s a great shot of fun. Single ‘Pink Eye’ is pretty cool too, nice and catchy for sure and closer ‘R.K.R.’ re-injects that bubblegum fun again.

The band, which is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Rob Richardson is pretty damn solid all round even though they only formed last year. And if you love the bands I name-checked and have a penchant for bands like those on the press-release – Kiss (the Ace sounds), Sweet (maybe a little) Joan Jett (maybe a bit) and a little W.A.S.P. (OK I’ll give them that) then you’ll like this.

A great album and like all the best right out of nowhere. Check it out!

8/10

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