A Rooster for the Masses Broken Era Preview

Seven months after returning to the local music scene, A Rooster for the Masses is set to release their first full length album on November 7th. It picks up right where their EP Gallo Rojo left off in January 2006, with socially conscious lyrics, bass grooves that Sade would approve and guitar hooks that could slice through metal. Full Album Preview Below the Fold

Many may classify Rooster in the category of indie rock dance bands that have emerged in the past 5 years. They have the groovy baselines, the one-two drum beats and the layering of guitars that seem to classify a band into this category. But, there’s something about the music of A Rooster for the Masses that allows them to transcend this category. Maybe it’s the maturity of their lyrics or the fact that each of their songs seem to have their own identity and therefore the album as a whole is hard to classify into a specific genre. Influences that pop up on the new album include The Clash, Radiohead, Dire Straits, Talking Heads, The Police, and The Specials…to name a few. Try listening to End Game, the last track on the album, without Guns of Brixton or Sandinista era Clash flashing through the mind.

But these only reference the groovy aspect of the new album Broken Era. There’s another layer of the album that reveals the true nature of Rooster, the darker, more contemplative, side. Adam Eckhardt’s lyrics and the guitar work of Jesper Grud and Wesley Gillespie create an eerie landscape in many of the songs on the new album. Both become very dark and bleeding at certain points on the album. From Postal, Headwaters, and The Finger, each song explores various aspects of the human pysche, from social darwinism to the tension that builds in personal relationships and the government’s impact on innocent American citizens. The exploitation of foreign products on US soil is also the subject of Chinese Guitars, while the fury becomes local on No Party Downtown, an homage to King’s Barcade in Downtown Raleigh which was bulldozed for a parking deck staging era. The local music scene hasn’t recovered since.

The album turns very militant in places, evoking helicopters flying overhead, spies lurking around our houses and the US government unjustly taking land from its citizens. It is this sensibility that allows Rooster to jump the genre of indie dance band. They have more mature depth than many bands with the angst of youthful relationships and petty problems. Our world is more complicated than a simple breakup and whether or not you wear Louis Vuitton, are sponsored by Mountain Dew, or how cool your bike is. Rooster acknowledges the problems faced in an election year, the economy, our human rights, immigration issues, and the lack of trust in government. They are in it for the social aspect as much as they are for the music and Broken Era is proof.

You can listen to six songs off of Broken Era at their Myspace page or listen to the entire album over at Reverb Nation.

Broken Era Tracklist -

1 - Homebodies
2 - Postal
3 - Headwaters
4 - Broken Era
5 - This Drawing
6 - Chinese Guitars
7 - No Party Downtown
8 - The Finger
9 - Damn Homie
10 - End Game

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Music , Other posts by Jedidiah.