Band : The Rocket
Album title : Tales Of Madness And Mischief
Label : Funtime records
Distributor : Suburban
Release date : Late July 2010
Release : MCD

Jimminy creepers, The Rocket is back with a continuation of their mischievous adventures, having released their debut full-length a mere 9 months ago! Now as the review for that album (posted 26/10/2009) is still easily accessible, I suggest that where you guys (and girls) go to for details on the formation of this Belgian Melodic punk Rock act.

I’m strangely pleased to see the band has held onto the geeky outfit (white shirt ‘n’ high socks, black cardigan and black sub-knee baggy trousers, and flat sports sneakers) image they had with their debut. I’m not sure why, but probably the consistency thing is in play here. Another thing which is consistent is the band’s musical gearing: up-tempo tunes with nice twin intermingling guitars, on top of which you’ll finnd those geeky synth sound every so often. The harmonic backings on top of the medium-high pitched lead vocals complete the picture. And the fact that the guys (or maybe it just the lead singer writing the lyrics) take topics from their own life to write their somewhat Emo-geared stuff (and for once I don’t really have any trouble with that), certainly give the songs something most young Melodic Punk Rock fans can certainly relate to from certain moments in their lives (honestly, if you can’t, you simply haven’t lived, you know!).

Anyhoo…no nonsence…to get you guys acquainted with the new material, the band has posted 2 songs off this mini-album (with 5 songs and a total length of almost 16 ½ minutes it definitely exceeds the “EP” status, right?!) at myspace.com/therocketofficial (the tracks they posted from their debut album are still available as well, and meanwhile the guys have a total of 6 videos for you to watch – 5 live footage vids and one from the studio, if my recollection is correct). If you want more, just prove your allegeance to the Belgian scene by buying this soon to be “Collectable” item, or go check out the band at one of their upcoming shows (mainly small festivals, so you get to see other acts at the same time – for schedule, check the MySpace page).

As for my personal appreciation of the EP, I have to admit I’ve been playing the EP in a continuous loop all morning while gathering the courage to get started with the review (holidays…they have a weird effect on the average human being), and even after the numerous sessions I cannot say I’ve grown bored with the songs. Can’t say I lóve ‘em either, but I can now almost flawlessly sing along with the tunes and, more importantly, I could be persuaded to play the CD again without having the thought “Not again!?” goin’ through my mind. Therefore, the rating on this mini-album is somewhat elevated from that of the debut full-length!!!

85/100

Tony.