Alone Together
“Hoo-Ha”
One of my favorite aspects about music is that you can find a new band anywhere from festivals, opening acts, a friend, social media, and a million other ways. I discovered Bloc Party when “This Modern Love“ played during the penultimate scene in How I Met Your Mother’s first season finale. Band of Horses weren’t on my radar until they opened for Modest Mouse back in 2007. More recently, during the first week of our Music For Nomes rebirth, I discovered the amazingly talented Gerry Cinnamon on Twitter the night before his fantastic new album dropped.
A few weeks back, Twitter struck again when I caught a mention about Red Rum Club dropping a new single called “Eleanor.“ I had just woke up, so I do not recall what caught my attention, but it was enough to give it a listen despite having never heard of the band. Their fun and positive vibe immediately hooked me. My ears were gushing over this amalgamation of Reptar and slight Vampire Weekend, but with a WAY different singer. Their sound was so infectious, and I needed more.
The Liverpool sextet doesn’t have a vast catalog so I was able to absorb most of it that morning when I took my dog, Baxter, on a walk. They’ve been pumping out anthemic jams since day 1! The earliest song I found was a slightly more fuzzy, indie-pop tune called “Alone Together“ from 2016. Being their first single, this was a harbinger of things to come.
The next three years of the band saw the occasional single drop, most of which made their way to the band’s 2019 debut album Matador. The only tune missing is 2017’s “Friend Of A Friend,“ which is kind of a bummer but I understand it may not have fit thematically. It’s a great one though, full of anthemic energy and more positive vibes. This is also the song where I was introduced to Joe Corby’s masterful trumpeting.
Matador is a stellar and polished debut album. So much so, you would have thought they’d been making records for 10 years! Opening track “Angeline“ hits you square in the face with more of Corby’s trumpet. I know a lot of bands use trumpets, but something about the way Corby plays immediately brought Calexico to mind. (Ironically, they also have a song titled “Calexico“). They’re a great band on their own, but Corby puts them over the top, at least for me.
There was something else about their music that felt familiar on so many levels, but I had a hard time putting my finger on it. I enlisted Travis, and we took a deep dive into a variety of bands where we came up with a cornucopia of X Ambassadors, Ceremonies, American Authors, and Little Green Cars. There are smaller elements that have brought to mind The Lone Bellow, Arctic Monkeys, and a few others, but these do not fit the whole picture.
Put all this together and you have an awesome band that needs to be on everyone’s radar moving forward. Red Rum Club bring the positivity we need to drown our ears in during this strange and turbulent 2020.
Their sophomore album, The Hollow of Humdrum, was recently announced for release on October 2nd this year. “Eleanor“ will be featured, and I cannot wait to hear what else this band has in store!
Tune In & Tune Out,
-Josh
Despite being acoustic, there is still so much energy to this version of “Alone Together“
Scope the latest stellar single “Eleanor“ from their upcoming sophomore album, The Hollow of Humdrum.
Man, I really miss live music. Their 2019 Glastonbury performance of “Would You Rather Be Lonely“ looks like so much fun
Bonus Track - Fitting with a recent theme, here is a stellar rendition of “Calexico“ played live at a Sofar gig. Even this early in the band’s evolution, the potential for greatness was clear and present.
