I'm not going to beat around the bush here: Rogue Traders are
very average. There is a reason that they weren't successful prior to
Neighbours actor Natalie Bassingthwaighte joining: They weren't very good. However, following Delta Goodrem, Natalie Imruglia and Kylie Minogue by going from Ramsey St into a singing career, Bassingthwaighte has found a certain amount of success with her new band. The lead-single
Voodoo Child was rather successful in Australia towards the back-end of last year and preceded three more singles from the album. The quartet has now embarked on a tour of the UK and has released
Voodoo Child there recently. The catchy hooks from the singles are the highlight of this album, as there is no depth to speak of whatsoever and the electro-pop-rock gets tedious very quickly. A mix of
Chemical Brothers,
Daft Punk and
Ashlee Simpson,
Rogue Traders are mediocrity personified, reaching unwarranted success based on the fact that their lead-singer is a soapie-star.
Obviously dance-inspired music doesn't lend itself to lyrical genius but
Rogue Traders offer up 45 minutes of some of the most repetitive and dull lyrics doing the rounds in the contemporary Pop-music scene. At times, the lyrical content makes
James Blunt look like Shakespeare. The album-opener -
Believer - is outstandingly monotonous, both lyrically and musically. It is too timid to be an enjoyable dance/electronic hit, and lacks any conviction as an outright Pop song. The synthesised keyboards of
Voodoo Child blend appropriately with the unimpressive drum beat, and while at first glance this track has the potential to be a catchy, disposable Pop song, it is overwhelmingly unremarkable. It is a precursor to the rest of the album: unexceptional.
One of the most frustrating elements of this record is the overtly lacklustre endings to almost all of the songs. There are no powerful, emotive final choruses or strong, assertive riffs closing any of the tracks which is a significant shortcoming. The mellow
Rescue Me is one of the more amiable songs on the album, a distinctly relaxed tune that would be at home on
The Chillout Sessions: It's one of the more bearable four minutes. Partially lifting the lead-riff from the
The Knack-classic 'My Sharona',
Watching You provides the most likeable chorus on the album. While the verses are largely annoying, off-the-cuff Pop, the choruses put some of the 'Rock' in that "dance-Rock" label the band has acquired. Nevertheless, it is not a shadow of the song it borrows its lead-riff from. Another of the singles from the album and largely similar to
Watching You is the fast-paced and anthemic
Way To Go!. Overlooking the lyrical content, this is certainly one of the more rockin' tunes with the lead-guitar providing the foundation for the track to good effect. The chorus from the fourth single
We're Coming Home salvages some respectability for the track, a somewhat catchy electro-Rock song that - again - seems hastily constructed, apparent in the superfluous and out-of-place bridge.
There are moments throughout this album when you honestly wonder how long it took to put together some of these songs.
White Lightning sounds like a dismal attempt to get the track-count up in to double figures. The monotonous electro drum-beat backing is only exacerbated by the calamitous vocal performance and characteristically dismal lyrics. The album reaches its nadir during this horrible four-minute ambush of ugliness. There has been some talk that
In Love Again is going to be the
fifth single from the album, and apparently it has already been released in Australia. Distinctly more placid and passive than the previous singles, this song has the potential to be much better than it is. Bassingthwaighte's vocals in the chorus are particularly uninspiring yet the 'pleasant' synthesised keyboards are alluring and this is perhaps an adequate slow pop-song. This sedate feeling is carried through to the album closer,
Casting Aside, where male vocals feature, with Bassingthwaighte assuming a support role. A satisfactory album-closer, this hesitant pseudo-acoustic track is somewhat reminiscent of the
Roger Sanchez hit 'Another Chance'. It is the only highlight of the final third of the album.
Here Come The Drums is a disposable, uninspiring album of bland dance/Pop-Rock songs. However, despite the overwhelming majority of tracks being dire from start to finish, there are moments of redemption. It's not
all bad for the Aussie quartet but
Here Come The Drums doesn't bode well for a prolonged career at the summit of the Pop charts. Bassingthwaighte proves that she can sing a bit and there are some catchy hooks nestled between the mediocrity. Nonetheless I wouldn't recommend this album to anyone wanting to hear anything with substance and variety. Basically it's a very average album that fails to distinguish itself in any notable way. Two stars from me.
This Message Edited On 08.20.06
