Debut album from the Bristol four piece who, having decided Bristol wasn’t the best place to be for a guitar focused indie-rock band, have relocated to Hackney. ‘Songs From The Lodge’ follows on from the Top 40 success of single ‘You’ve Given Me Something That You Can’t Take Back’, which achieved support from the likes of radio 1, 2, XFM and Virgin. A throwback to the days when The Smiths seemed to always be in the charts ‘YGMSTYCTB’ is an accomplished slice of guitar driven, energetic pop-rock that sees vocalist James Williams warbling along and doing his best to imitate Morrissey (with some success).  

‘Songs From The Lodge’ provides them with the opportunity to prove they are not merely Smiths clones and can deliver the goods across an entire album. And whilst you could certainly imagine Morrissey coming up with titles such as ‘I’m Bored Of You’, ‘The History of Britain’ and ‘We’ve Only Got Our Yesterdays Now’, the band display enough diversity and originality to suggest comparisons will soon become a thing of the past. With a host of potential singles here, from the melodic rock-lite of ‘When We Were Young’ to the more thoughtful ‘The History of Britain’, it will surely be only a matter of time before New Rhodes become a significant force on the alternative, indie-rock scene. They seem tailor-made to follow in the footsteps of bands such as Razorlight and Franz Ferdinand, and a place at next years V Festival must be well within their sights. And with the band already having already been championed by the likes of Bloc Party and Graham Coxon, this will surely do their chances of achieving greater success no harm at all. 

Sometimes, it is the simplest ideas that work out best and the majority of the song structures are straightforward and instant, ‘I Wish I Was You’ and ‘Open Your Eyes’ bouncing along in an optimistic fashion complete with memorable hooks. In fairness, this may not appeal to the majority of our regular readers, but those of you with the inclination to expand your horizons could do a lot worse than check this out.  

‘Songs From The Lodge’ is released on October 23^rd on Salty Cat Records, with the single ‘The History of Britain’ issued one week earlier. In support of the release New Rhodes will be on tour across the UK throughout October.

Let us know your views on 'Songs From The Lodge'

Track List

You’ve Given Me Something That I Can’t Give Back
I’m Bored Of You
Cowardice
She Said No
The History Of Britain
Please Tell Me Something
When We Were Young
One Of These Days
I Wish I Was You
Open Your Eyes
We’ve Only Got Our Yesterdays Now
A Different Time

Line Up

James Williams - Vocals/Guitars
Joe Gascoigne - Guitars
Jack Ashdown - Bass
Tim Desmond – Drums