MP3: The Rooph - Silver street

The Rooph sound like the Norwegian equivalent of Placebo, minus the drugs and the danger. Not that Placebo sounds all that doped-up or dangerous anymore, but hey - neither does The Rooph. What remains: an androgynous vocalist fronting a melancholic rock band with a slight propensity towards noisy, distorted guitars. Once upon a time, Placebo could conjure up almost Big Black-levels of screaming guitar intensity and I think The Rooph aspires towards that, but falls short. It's a common complaint with Scandinavian music - there's nothing obviously wrong about The Rooph, they are simply a less-exciting copy of a more successful act. It's too clean, too perfect. They lack the willful abandon that so often is an integral part of quality rock'n'roll. Maybe they come across better in a live situation. On record they register a "meh". It's especially frustrating because I have a feeling that if they really were on drugs, they'd probably be awesome.

The Rooph - Silver street

Norwegian act The Rooph has opened their new website: http://www.therooph.com/
The band's new album "The rats of October Philharmonic" is out now and they will tour Norway in February and the UK in May.

Norwegian label Dead Letter Records has signed The Rooph and will be releasing their debut album "The rats of October philharmonics" on January 29. The band is described as Fireside with a touch of Placebo or Interpol. Listen here for yourself: http://www.myspace.com/therooph