Review: RRRags ‘High Protein’

One thing is for certain when you first listen to RRRags, is that they sound reminiscent, and that’s because they are. There’s a heavy Paul Rodgers and Bad Company vibe running through this whole album, and through the band themselves.  It isn’t a genre; it’s more a specific band, and singer, that’s being invoked here.

RRRags ‘High Protein’

It’s not very often a band comes along that can capture the spirit of another band, a classic band, and update that sound in a way that sounds fresh and current. You could be in a bar in Europe in the two thousand and twenties, and just as similarly,  you could be in any blues rock bar in America in the nineteen seventies, that has a kicking jukebox, and these tunes wouldn’t be out of place.

RRRags would fit in effortlessly, but they aren’t a parody, far from it, they make the sound their own.

High Protein is an album that takes a leisurely trip back to the seventies, and hooks up with Paul Rodgers et al, drinking their beers, and borrowing their thunder, and then adds a modern twist in for good measure.

While this is breaking no new ground on the hard rock sounds of the seventies, it’s a rejuvenated update of a forgotten sound, and is expertly played over this thirty four  minute opus, it’s incredibly cool, and a real testament to the spirit of the American hard rock sound we know and love so well.

This is an album of eight solid tunes, not one of them is any lesser than the last, it’s a well-made, beautiful sounding , well produced album, and deserves all the praise it gets.

it’s incredibly cool, and a real testament to the spirit of the American hard rock sound we know and love so well…

Two of the particular stand outs were the tracks Messin and Sugarcube; tracks that shake off the feel of the rest of the album, and dare to take the listener on a minor detour.

Messin is just exactly how rock should be; it feels carefree, and sounds effortless. The quality of the musicianship shines through, and it sounds like a group of guys just enjoying what they do. It doesn’t feel forced, and is a pleasure to listen to, more like a jam then a finished piece, but only because you can feel the pleasure in the playing.

Sugarcube has more of a grungy feel, its faster paced, and is definitely the shining star of the album. Its engaging and arousing, both fun and furious, it truly has the markings of a sound that is all too rare these days. It isn’t at all cheesy, it sounds legitimate, it’s the crowd pleaser tune that will define them as a band, and their sound I believe.

Throughout these eight tracks it is clear that Bad Company are the influence for RRRags, it has that super cool seventies hard rock vibe, with Paul Rodgers always impeccable vocal in the mix and just goes to prove that some things live on well past an era, or a genre, and can still be reinvented, and sound current. A true testament to quality songs, and the fantastic musicianship of the band.

For fans of that seventies hard rock sound, this album is the one, it will satisfy those cravings, and bring everything right up to date, in the best way possible.

Label: Lay Bare Recordings
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram

Scribed by: Lee Beamish