Rock Twice – Rock Twice
Album Review By Rainer Kerber
Don‘t think twice, go R o c k T w i c e ! The new rock sensation from Berlin!
You can read these pithy words on the band’s homepage. And these words show a lot of self-confidence. Rock Twice are influenced by rock music from the past. The musicians were particularly drawn to the 1970s and 1980s. As role models are mentioned among others Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake or even the Beatles. OK, the latter were active in the sixties. Rock Twice were founded in September 2018 by experienced musicians from Berlin. The self-titled debut album was released in January.
Piano at the beginning, but then classic rock resounds from the speakers. And the voice of singer Gina Johnson would go with any Southern rock combo. “Hellfire” is a successful entry into the debut. The song is refined by cello sounds. “World Skate Day” also has a strong Southern Rock list. One thinks one is in a saloon in the southern United States. “Your Second Life” starts with clean plucked guitars. Here Gina sings in a duet with a band colleague. A calm, almost ballad-like song, characterized by folk elements, with a distinctive bass line. “That´s Not You” is rockier. And the song title “Little Soul” is concept, calm with a lot of feeling. The singer shows in this beautiful ballad that their voice has more to offer than the whiskey-laden timbre. Just close your eyes and dream. A hammer guitar solo is the icing on the cake. “Easaly” offers a lot of funky sounding keyboards. This is followed by a rather idiosyncratic interpretation of the Beatles classic “Eleanor Rigby”. After listening to it several times, I like this version even better than the original. With “Want Your Soul” funk and soul influences can be heard again. The regular closing song “Evry Evry Song” is the second ballad. Gina is mostly accompanied by electric piano and acoustic guitars. It only gets more powerful towards the end. The bouncer (= Bonus Track) is a remix of “World Skate Day” in the so-called “Abbey Road Version”.
Rock Twice are one of the great new discoveries in 2020 for me. The self-titled debut album offers almost fifty minutes of pure listening fun. And can only be recommended to every rock fan. Especially if he likes Southern Sound. I hope and wish that the quintet will come on a concert tour to northern Germany. The songs really go off live.
ROCK TWICE Demo Video: World Skate Day, Little Soul, Eleanor Rigby: https://youtu.be/Z_IVz8enep4
Lineup:
Gina Johnson – Vocals
N.K. Robin – Keytar, Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals
Ulli Zett – Guitars, Vocals
Marty Priest – Bass
Joe G. Farmer – Drums, Vocals
Guests:
Juliane Herzig – Cello
Philipp Schorpp – Lute
Angela Sedlmaier – Backing Vocals
Heike Berndt – Backing Vocals
Label: Livin´ Music/MSP
Out: January 25th, 2020
Playing time: 48:12
Track list:
- Hellfire
- World Skate Day
- Fake News
- Your Second Life
- That´s Not You
- Little Soul
- Easaly
- Eleanor Rigby
- Want Your Soul
- Always Right
- Evry Evry Song
- World Skate Day (Abbey Road Version)
Rating : 8.5/10
MHF Magazine/Rainer Kerber
