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08/04/08 Mercy Lounge Nashville, TN
Discography
08/05/08 Gertle’s Place Louisville, KY 08/05/08 **US ALBUM RELEASE** US 08/07/08 Hollow At Local Minneapolis, MN 08/09/08 Meadowlark Bar Denver, CO 08/11/08 Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, CA 08/12/08 House Of Blues, San Diego, CA 08/13/08 Swedish American Hall SF, CA 08/16/08 V-Festival, Staffs Staffordshire 08/17/08 V-Festival, Chelmsford Chelmsford 08/30/08 Hydro Connect Festival Scotland
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Long before I received Wicked Man's Rest album for review, people were already asking me about this band. UK music lovers were already watching closely at this Brighton-based band, /Passenger., ever since they made their SXSW appearance this year. They're recently making their way back to America (they just passed through Philadelphia and currently in Tennessee).
Mike Rosenberg is the man behind this light-rock/pop band, which comes off as sounding like Kooks (for the accent) and the Frames (for the music). Maybe it's just me, but I have always been drawn to singers that sounds quintessentially British, as it seems to me that UK bands have tried to sound more american when they sing.
It's been about one full year since their debut album, Wicked Man's Rest, was released in the UK and it's finally being released domestically tomorrow, August 5th, via Cooking Vinyl Records USA. Despite all that time, hardly any new tracks were added (think of all those B-Sides that could've made it onto this 40-minute album!)
The US version does include one extra track, "Girl I Once Knew".
I like their songs about angst and relationship, one song in particular, "Do What You Like", is about how unfairly the singer feels about his relationship: "well you treat me like dirt, I treat you like a queen". You're not quite sure if the singer realized that he needs a new girlfriend.
Their strongest song is "Night Vision Binoculars", which was recently released in the US as a remixed single. Apparently, looking at their UK release, the song was originally titled "Walk You Home". I'm not sure what lead them to change the title, but I suspect the new title defines the song (a stalker watching his subject via his binoculars) versus a "feel-good" song about walking a girl home.
You can pick up the sinister pop album, Wicked Man's Rest, tomorrow, at all the usual online location and be sure to check them out on tour. To get a feel of what they sound like live, they are offering a live version of "Night Vision Binoculars" as a free download on their official website.
Trivia: Allen Ginsberg is sampled on their track "Wicked Man's Rest".
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