‘Colossal Velocity’ is Revenge of the Psychotronic Man’s (RTM) third album, and like 2009’s ‘Make Pigs Smoke’, is a homage of sorts to Alan Partridge. The band even adapted their album trailer to match Partridge’s Alpha Papa.
RTM’s sound is reminiscent of early heavy metal and punk, and the gang vocals and energy of the music makes them seem like they’d be an extremely talented live band, too.
‘Colossal Velocity’ is a perfect punk rock album, with the first track, ‘To Be Frank’, reminding me instantly of a Ramones and Motorhead blend – only much, much faster. This song sets the tone of the album in just one minute and seven seconds: it’s fast, shouty, and incredibly catchy. As I listened for the first time, I started trying to pick out the best tracks but after a while that became a bit pointless because each song is better than the last. Their sound is consistent through the whole album, but it is far from repetitive as the short and sharp songs are all still really interesting to listen to – a change from their last album.
The band describe the album as “having all the speed and energy people expect, but with some new twists and turns, with lyrical content that ranges from changing the world through one minute songs with indecipherable lyrics, to dismantling a Corby trouser press, space travel and former footballer Niall Quinn.” Although the lyrics are sometimes indecipherable, they’re still enjoyable to listen to as they’re growled in a call and response style, accompanied by the guitars thrashing in an almost metal fashion contrasted with more delicate melodies and riffs, and fast paced, powerful drums; this all comes together to create raw punk anthems crammed with solos, breakdowns, and witty lyrics (from what you can make out).
There are brief interludes where the music is slightly slower in ‘I Wanna Be a Spaceman’, and ‘Mr Rabbit’, and it demonstrates that the band are just as good slowed down. However, after around 30 seconds there’s a complete turnaround as they’ve already built back up to the fast and manic music on the rest of the album.
‘Rrose Sélary (To Make a Toast To Life)’, the closing and longest track (at one minute and 40 seconds), was the perfect end to the album, closing the album with just as much energy as it begun with, featuring an awe-inspiring virtuosic guitar solo. This song stands out as one of the few songs without an abrupt ending, gently easing listeners out of the heart-racing 20 minutes.
9/10
I can see this album doing extremely well, and look forward to seeing the band live on one of their many tour dates this year:
Sat 21 May – Bad Apples, Leeds
Sat 2 July – Wonk Fest, London
Sat 9 July – BGB, York
Sat 23 July – Bleach, Brighton
Fri 29 July – Westgarth, Middlesbrough
Sat 30 July – The Black Bull, Gateshead
Sun 7 Aug – Rebellion Festival, Blackpool
19/20 Aug – Retro Bar, Manchester. Anarchistic Undertones 10 Year
Birthday
Fri 26 Aug – Bannermans, Edinburgh
Sat 27 Aug – Conroy’s Basement, Dundee
Sun 28 Aug – Maguires, Liverpool
Sat 3 Sept – Wotsit Called Fest, Hastings
Sun 4 Sept – Wagon and Horses, Birmingham Punx Picnic, Birmingham
Sat 10 Sept – The Wheatsheaf, Banbury
Sat 24 Sept – The Chelsea, Bristol
Fri 7 Oct – Cremorne, Sheffield
Sat 8 Oct – The Underground, Plymouth
Sat 15 Oct – The Owl Sanctuary, Norwich
Sat 22 Oct – The Sanctuary, Basingstoke
Thurs 27 Oct – Lady Luck, Canterbury
Fri 28 Oct – T Chances, London
Sat 29 Oct – Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge, Stamford
Sat 5 Nov – PJ McGinty’s, Ipswich
Sat 19 Nov – Union Bar, Hastings
Sat 26 Nov – The Yorkshire House, Lancaster
Fri 9 Dec – The Workers Club, Kings Lynn
Fri 16 Dec – Santiago, Leeds
Sat 17 Dec – Bank Top Tavern, Oldham