ALBUM REVIEW: Red Rum Club – Western Approaches

’…a band truly stepping up to the challenge of producing a record that is befitting of an arena headliner. It’s the perfect way of capping off the journey up to this point for Red Rum Club…’

To talk about Merseyside’s music scene without mentioning Red Rum Club is frankly unthinkable at this point.

Since releasing their debut single back in 2016, it has only been up and up for the unconventional sextet, producing three great albums and selling out venues both sides of the Atlantic; just this year saw a mural painted of the band in Liverpool after their sell-out show at the city’s latest outdoor music venue, Salt & Tar.

Now, the band are back with a brand new album, alongside a show at the M&S Bank Arena that is approaching sell out status. The rise of Red Rum Club has been meteoric, and with ‘Western Approaches’, the band have penned an album that truly seems befitting of their new scale; the core formula of ‘Scouse Americana’ is still present, but expanded upon and pushed to new thrilling territories that feels like a band just getting started for their most exciting act yet.

The album kicks off by taking listeners back to the band’s roots. With blaring brass, scorching guitar riffs, and flamenco rhythms, ‘Godless’ feels like a cut that you might have found on the band’s Tarantino-tinged debut, ‘Matador’; frontman Francis Doran grapples with the existential, with a performance that swings between understated and swaggering. All of this continues into the second track, ‘Black Cat’, marked by its driving riffs layered over punchy bass and brass fanfares; Joe Corby’s trumpet performances are a fan-favourite already, and the moments that place him front and centre on this record are simply electrifying.

More straightforwards indie numbers appear across the album the further you get in, from the rousing ‘Hole in My Home’, with its huge choruses, and the witty existential crisis that is ‘Undertaker’. The latter of these particularly stands out as one of the band’s finest singles, the melancholy lyricism contrasting beautifully with the silky, sunny instrumentals packed with buoyant bass lines and bluesy guitar melodies. The vocal harmonies here are wonderful, especially on those catchy pre-chorus hooks.

Moments of experimentation, however, is when this album truly shines; the band push themselves in varying ways on ‘Western Approaches’, from pushing themselves to try new sounds and styles, to stripping things back entirely. ‘Last Minute’ is a gorgeously put together acoustic cut with some of the band’s most heartfelt lyricism to date, set against the sound of distant waves lapping up against the shore. Doran is beautifully understated in his performance, sounding more vulnerable and grounded than ever before.

On the other end of the spectrum are the closing tracks of ‘Alive’ and ‘Jigsaw Shore’, with their unconventional and off-kilter indie stylings that are certain to appeal to not just big fans of the band, but those seeking their indie rock with a little more bite. The latter in particular packs a distinctly furious breakdown in the back half, which is wildly unexpected yet certainly welcomed.

Following on from their debut record, Red Rum Club have delved further into Merseybeat and indie rock, producing two great and distinct albums in the process. ‘Western Approaches’, however, feels like the perfect culmination of all that experimentation and effort, a band truly stepping up to the challenge of producing a record that is befitting of an arena headliner. It’s the perfect way of capping off the journey up to this point for Red Rum Club, and kicking off whatever is next for this band.

A worthy group of representatives for the city of music.

RATING: 84/100 – Very Good

For Fans Of: The Last Shadow Puppets, The Last Dinner Party, Picture Parlour, The Cheap Thrills

Physical copies of the album are available to purchase here.

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Instagram // Spotify // Twitter