The Belgian speednoise crew are back, and this time, you ignore them at your peril!
Well, that unwieldy album title didn’t surprise us, but only because we were drawn into Ronker-world about a year ago by the discovery of their debut album ‘Fear Is A Funny Thing, Now Smile Like A Big Boy’. Oh, and there was also that superb gig at the New Cross Inn. Anyway, Ronker are back, and although they’re clearly not lacking in a sense of humour, ‘Respect The Hustle…’ is more than reason enough to take the band seriously.
There’s a whole lotta Refused to much of this record, and that’s no bad thing at all. Equal parts hardcore rage and abrasive noise rock, the likes of opener ‘Tall Stories’ and previous single ‘No Sweat’ sound like they could level all that lies before them (including our eardrums), and we particularly like the way the latter suddenly bursts into a breakneck sprint. They’d probably want to kill us for using the term ‘catchy’, but there’s something seriously addictive to the minimal stomp of ‘Deliver The Liver’ and the spidery riffing of ‘Disco Dust’.
They have something of a secret weapon in vocalist/guitarist Jasper De Petter, who can – and often does – switch seamlessly between a kind of spoken word style and a gravel-throated roar. He can sing, too – like on the melancholy ‘Snuff’, a song no less ominous for its lack of distorted fury. Don’t pet the sleepy tiger, kids, because it could suddenly wake up and bite your hand off. The noise rock equivalent of Faith No More? A lazy comparison, perhaps, but Ronker have certainly inherited Mike Patton’s crew’s sense of the mischievous and love of experimentation. Check out the gloriously schizophrenic ‘Clear The Air’ and you’ll see what we mean.
‘Fear Is…’ showed plenty of promise, but ‘Respect The Hustle…’ is Ronker’s definitive statement – the sound of a band who have truly arrived. They’ll be playing Ramsgate Music Hall and London’s The Lexington in late April – grab tickets while you can, because on the strength of this record, small venues like those won’t contain them for much longer.
‘Respect The Hustle, I Won’t Be Your Dog Forever’ is out now via Labelman – buy the vinyl/CD/digital versions HERE.
- Tall Stories
- Respect The Hustle
- No Sweat
- Clear The Air
- Snuff
- Where The Dogs Sleep
- House Of Hunger
- Disco Dust
- Deliver The Liver
- Limelighter
- Using Eyes
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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