ALBUM REVIEW: High Protein – RRRags

June 3, 2020 Rosie Solomon

RRRAGS seemed to have it all figured out. They have a solid image, and a well-worn sound which treads the same trail as some of the greats. However, their newest record, High Protein proves be to an uninspired pastiche of 70s blues as opposed to a new take on it, and ultimately, this album is a middle-of-the-road let down.

High Protein doesn’t open on a strong note. Sugarcube, a thinly disguised ode to LSD, is an onslaught of tasteless rock ‘n’ roll noise without much direction or honing of their sound past the point of “yeah man, we want this to rock!,” while Demons Dancing is a strong contender for worst lyrics on the album – “Demons dancing… in my head, I want you, baby,.you drive me mad” is far from the most inspiring of hooks. When RRRAGS move into slower territory, however, this is a different story – the stoner elements elevate the band’s sound a little and make it stand out a little more, so Window is a welcome, trippy psych standout. Slower, stoner psych rock suits this band better than the upbeat 70s-style rocking tunes.

Messin is the prime example of this. It’s short and energetic, but that’s about all it’s got going for it. The hook “I can’t have you messin’ with my mojo” is so cringey-ly Austin Powers-esque that it pretty much ruins any street cred the band have managed to build up until this point. The sliding guitar solo sounds like things you’ve already heard a million times before, and Sad Sanity follows suit in a similarly uninspired fashion. Dark is The Day is a pretty good, slower song which makes use of the band’s epic, loud energy with much more taste than any other song on the record. It’s the kind of dusty, gritty, testosterone-fuelled tune that you can play whilst speeding down Route 66, but sounds more fully realised than the rest of the album. It has tinges of Riders on the Storm and, of course, BLUE CHEER, one of the band’s main influences.

It’s worth giving Dark is the Day and Window a listen. If you like the sound of 70s-blues pastiche which is so accurate that it sounds like a million other bands that you’ve already heard, then you might even be the sort of person who would enjoy Messin and Sugarcube. High Protein holds its strength in the same place as its weakness. The album draws so heavily from its 70s blues rock influences that the sound actually ends up sounding pretty tired, and the lacklustre and uninspired guitar solos don’t help. This band needs to seriously have a sit down and think about what would make their sound stand out from the crowd. At the moment, there ain’t much.

Rating: 5/10

High Protein is set for release May 29th via Lay Bare Recordings.

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