By Ljubinko Zivkovic, Rock At Night Amsterdam
Review: Rocket Kings – Paving The Way-Release date: October 11, 2023
Yes, you may call Reading, England’s Rocket Kings an indie pop outfit, and they would (and should) be proud of that tag. Formed in 2016, Rocket Kings is made up of Dave Stewart (ukulele, vocals), Bex Crossland (vocals, ukulele), David Heath (drums), Jess Tuthill (ukulele, vocals), and Yoshiko Nakayama (bass). The band debuted on the music scene with ‘The Spellbound EP’ in 2018, with all the right pop rock influences – Teenage Fanclub, Lou Reed, The Kinks, The Wedding Present, Status Quo and The La’s.
All of those influences are all presented on their second full length album ‘Paving The Way,’ with the quintet mashing them up and putting their individual vision and stamp on the 12 songs here. All of them are chockfull of an excellent melodic sense and some nifty male/female vocal interaction that makes songs here sparkle and bounce.
“The overall sound is perhaps a little more rocky this time around, and we regularly use overdrive and phaser pedals. We even have trumpet on a couple of tracks,” says Dave Stewart.
And it all works both for them and their listeners.
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