Club Fandango Deliriously upbeat nuggets of pop genius from that well-known hotbed of new talent, Leamington Spa. Think Britpop chancers Echobelly sped up and dosed with Ritalin, with a flamboyant stage show to die for.
Drowned in Sound Easily the worst thing I've heard in 26 years thoroughly misspent on planet earth is 'My Valentino' by The Rrrs. The singer sounds like she's wandered off a happy hardcore record and into an Echobelly B-side circa 1997, which I suppose is as vivid a rendering of hell as I can imagine this morning. The red hot poker up the bum would come as a relief, frankly.
Subba Cultcha A Subba Cultcha single of the month
Like a wondrous collision of Operator Please, Amy Winehouse, Los Campensinos & a smattering of Eartha Kitt - the jittering pop undercurrent means these guys will go FAR!
Crud MagazineI couldn't really improve on what the band say at their MySpace page: "The Libertines being strangled by The Pixies and The Futureheads, whilst dancing to the beat of the east in Singapore with Gwen Stefani." Does exactly what it says on tin only with lashings more silliness and heaps of frivolous fun. Best single I've heard in a long time. Andy Warhol dreamt there'd be days like these. Practise rolling now. ***
Entertainment FocusI was only remonstrating the other day over the tragic demise of onomatopoeia in modern day culture, so imagine my delight at receiving a little gem in the form of debut double A-side single by Leamington Spa's The Rrrs; envisage the ravenous advances of a heavenly body to correctly engage with annunciation.
Vocalist extraordinaire Sharzilla Moog traversed the oceans from her homeland of Singapore to Warwick University with a simple mission, to infuse Indie-pop with the flavours of the East. It was at University she colluded with lead guitarist Rowan Gifted and bassist Les Woods who in the name of music spent several drummers, settling for drummer number nine, namely Tom Rocket. Tom, our thoughts are with you.
Sharzilla's voice possesses the most endearing qualities of a tipsy wee munchkin as she cavorts with cupid on
My Valentino, skipping over drum beats like tangled daisy chains, soaring on guitar riffs like flustering dandelion seeds. The
Forbidden Kiss quells somewhat in temptation of infidelity as the drums come abounding with roguish abandon leaving the guitars to seek a spiritual high, while
Credit Crunch imparts a more frenzied determination as the munchkin frets over making ends meet in today's uncertain financial market, somewhat saddening for all my life I sincerely believed there was no place like munchkinland.
I'm lost for a sense of the Orient, rather finding myself hoisted blissfully upon a reckless gust of twee, eighties art-pop facing Indie modulation. The Rrrs are fun, sure to add a splash of colour to airwaves and a smile on the face of every believer. (Pritesh Peshavaria)
Room Thirteen Is anyone reading this unfortunate enough to remember the wretchedly annoying hamster song, the original ring-tone disaster that entranced all right-minded individuals into delirious rage whenever it was played in ear-shot?
Well, Sharzilla Moog, the Singaporean lead singer of The Rrrs defies logic: She sounds uncannily like the digitalised chirp of that cartoon rodent 'song'.
It's a shame because musically The Rrrs rattle off their riotous brand of ramshackle pop with might and main.
'My Valentino' is an up-tempo guitar pop single whizzed-up on panda pops and E-numbers. There is an underlying shamelessness about this hopscotching, hyper-active pogo-fest. You can almost hear the collective grin smeared across the faces of the band whilst they play.
Forbidden Kiss is a dreamy affair, bolstered by the pitter-patter of drum cymbals and sparkly, carbonated guitar lines. Again, the shrill flutter-tonguing of Moog's voice is a shooting-pain sharp enough to make the eyes water, like the after effects from snorting a line of sherbert.
The ADD pop-madness wanes during B-side 'Credit Crunch' a song dedicated to the dreadful state of affairs which all independent musicians can relate to. Musically, it is darker and harsher, pertaining to a more razor edged sound.
The Rocker - Zeitgeist Y'see this alternates between the Brightest! Bestest! Biggest! Poppiest! thing ever, to the Ah'm! Gonnae! Kick! Yer! Heid! In! Tonight! annoyingiest thing ever. Often within the space of ten seconds. So, one moment I'm all bouncy and shiny, the next I'm in beardy, tattooed psycho killer mode. And with my mental history, this is not the sort of rebounding I should be getting up to. Not unless I'm under careful medical supervision.
But, despite all that, I'm still going to stick my neck out and praise this shower, anyway. For exactly the reasons stated in the paragraph above. Because they actually cause a reaction. Unlike most modern pop music that barely causes a ripple, or at best a yawn. The lead track on this EP, 'My Valentino', probably caused more immoderate moments in the space of three minutes than I've managed for the rest of the year.
They're at their best when they go all day-glo poppy, and at their worst when they turn into a bunch of tuneless Manc fretbores from the eighties, which, allied to the aforementioned Claire Grogan vocals, will make them either the best thing you have ever heard, or the single most compelling reason for killing all music now. Or both. One thing, for sure. You won't forget them in a hurry.
Rock City This basically sounds like 'The Strokes' but with the vocals being played at twice the normal speed; furthermore a couple of 60's style doo-wops have been thrown in to both songs for good measure! It's totally amateur sounding and the singer just sounds overly excitable. Terrible! 2/10
Adrian Denning
What's up with Coventry/Leamington Spa lately? We've had The Enemy, Day One and now The Rrrs. All these things going on right under my nose?! Well, it's about time Coventry produced something of a scene, says me. Anyways, The Rrrs have an out and out guitar pop sound, complete with distinctive and/or irritating vocals. It works though, the three songs here are short, fun and full of promise. Add in an eighties sounding synth into the mix and these guys and girl will be there! 3/5
Get Ready to Rock Golly gosh is this single crap…try as I might it really is a pile of poop! The music is up tempo indie pop, nothing wrong with that but the vocals sounds like Crazy Frog meets a female Charles Aznavour impersonator. They are awful sorry to say and even sound out of tune on the choruses. Some music fans out there will like this but I doubt there will be many of you…
Noize Makes Enemies Hailing from the heart of the West Midlands, there are two things which make the sound of The Rrrs stand out. First there is the distinctive style of the intriguingly named songwriter and lead singer Maxima Moog. Originally hailing from Singapore, Moog's inimitable sound helps The Rrrs stand from the crowd adding a good dash of South-East Asian spice to some bland Western guitar pop. The first track of their double A-side single, My Valentino, is a classic example of the guitar-driven pop song. It's infectious up-tempo beat mixed with some wonderful backing vocals liberally sprinkled with girly 'woo's and 'ooo's throughout, help give the song some depth. The second track, Forbidden Kiss, offers up more the same of formula at a slightly slower tempo.
This neatly leads me on to the other thing which makes the Rrrs stand out; they sound as if they are being played at the wrong speed. Every time I give their CD a spin I really can't help thinking that I've just put some long playing vinyl on at 45 rpm instead of 33. While the slightly unnatural speed of their songs is undoubtedly what makes The Rrrs sound stand out gives them a sense of fun and exuberance, it remains to be seen whether their indie-pop-on-speed style will catch on this summer. (Adam Tolladay)
Bearded Magazine ... death would be kind to The Rrrs (pronounced with a rolling 'r' for the uninitiated). They boast possibly the worst band name since The The and a vocalist called Sharzilla Moog, who sounds like the Chipmunks on Helium. The best (and subsequently) worst moment on 'My Valentino' (Headtones) comes at 2.43 when the song ends, then abruptly restarts. Damn them.
Street Voice This four piece have a catchy guitar sound but what makes them stand out is the distinctive vocals from the gorgeous Sharzilla Moog. On the opening track 'My Valentino' sees the Rrrs come into their own with the catchiest number on this three track single. This track also shows what a wicked vocalist Sharzilla is.
Slowing down things a little on 'Forbidden Kiss' shows just how diverse this band are yet still retaining that catchy guitar sound. A great song and I for one reckon given proper air time on the radio will see this band hit it big time on these two tracks alone. 'Credit Crunch' see's the band taking a more indie rock route and this song that the reviewers at NME will be raving about. A great debut single and hopefully leading the Rrrs to greater things! 9/10
Sunday Experience Impossibly addictive, devilishly infectious and obnoxiously catchy. The debut release from Rrrs is all at once a crooked and careering affair. The quartet who saunter about with names like Maxima Moog, Rowan Gifted, Tom Rocket and Les Woods - the latter of which we suspect isn't on his birth certificate, cutely spin sugar tipped pop tarts at the drop of a hat.
Opening ambit 'My Valentino' is an unadulterated wash of tingling pop effervescent flavoured innocence, Moog's vocals sounding like some wired hybrid of Clare Grogan on hormones coming across like Eartha Kitt on helium, admittedly braided with a likeness to the 5678's and Shonen Knife in a handbag at paces nursery spat over who has the last malted milk biscuit at break time - but how we love it - 50's bubblegum accents, tiger-ish softly planted riff kisses and lashings upon lashings of infectious sing-a-long harmonies - frankly its catchier than a summer cold.
'Forbidden Kiss' follows in quick procession - more servings of sugared pop that dinkily sound like its fallen from an 80's pop soundtrack making for a spot of lip smacking flighty fun all packaged with summer fresh breezily skipping riffs, French pop fancies, honeycombed with Razorcuts like harmonies and candy laced crooning montages that curiously exudes a vaguely exotic South Pacific feel while simultaneously thumbing through a vibe sourced directly from the early back catalogue of Kitchenware.
'Credit Crunch' rounds up the pack - a more angularly focused nugget this time of asking invested with teeth baring darting riffs and a monochrome finish that should satiate the toe tapping needs of the skinny tie wearing brigade. In short exuberant stuff kids.
The Music MagazineHmmm, nice intro!
'My Valentino' is up-tempo, sugar-infused pop, energetic and all-round infectious! Oh, but wait... the vocals really spoil it.
The Rrrs' lease singer Sharliza 'Sharzilla' Moog sounds like a whiney, helium-overdosed chipmunk and the lyrics are barely discernible. Two minutes and 45 seconds in, they lead you to believe it's all over and that your ears are safe from the cacophony... Alas, it is not.
Double A-side track
Forbidden Kiss doesn't fare much better. Once again the music is virtually spot on, it's just sorely let down by Moog's unique vocal "talents". The press release would have you believe that Moog is - and I quote -
"wild crooning". Lies, all lies. Have they ever heard real crooning? I highly doubt that. If they had, they'd know full well Moog is way off the mark... much like this double A-side single, actually. (
Toni Spencer)
Whisperin' and Hollerin'
Leamington Spa's The Rrrs release their debut double A side single 'My Valentino/ Forbidden Kiss' this week and thus far the response seems to have been, well, mixed to say the least.
Much of the furor surrounds Singaporean vocalist Sharliza's vocal style. Leaping through her register like we don't even know what, she somehow simultaneously massacres, yet makes, every second of the single. Without her it's hard to imagine if the band would be memorable at all. The rest of The Rrrs make a fine racket in the vein of Los Campesinos! et al (plenty of 'woos' and all that) but everything hangs on Sharliza's vocal acrobatics and as quick as the first track is over another begins.
The Rrrs are frantic, up-tempo and great fun but more importantly, they divide opinion. And all the best bands do that don't they? 8/10 (lizharvs)