Republic of Loose Review - Water Rats 19th Feb 2004

Republic of Ireland | by John Bownas | 19 February 2004

Republic of Loose, The Vaudevilles and Dave Hessian

Every so often a band comes pinging onto your radar screen out of nowhere and sends your DefCon UFO (Unbelievably F*ckin' Overwhelming) status up into the infra-red. An APB e-mail from Boogaloo emprasario Gerry Boyle started this particular chain reaction bubbling, and a promo CD from Alison at Big Cat Records pulled the reactor control rods way out into the danger zone.

On first listen, The Republic of Loose's debut album 'This is the Tomb of the Juice' was clearly a work of ungodly genius, and the upcoming Water Rats date became a must-see. Funky gospel sould with dark and muddy undercurrents was instantly reminiscent of Alabama 3 at their grittiest, and at the same time most tuneful...but undercurrents aside, there was a unique quality that stamps the sound as original and powerfully new, even though the powerful soul rythms drive a riptide of familiarity through your head.

The live experience lived up to the mental hype in spades. The Water Rats is an intimate venue indeed, and up-close and personal RoL's Michael Pyro comes across immediately as an angry, dishevelled mid-west American truck driver getting ready to swing the first pool-cue in a bar-room brawl. But when he opens his mouth the gospel-soul tunes that cascade around the room take you back to those heady days when The Commitments first burst out of Ireland. You remember how they shouted out to the world that the emerald isle is home to some of the same deep-rooted emotions born of anguish and despair but brought up in the arms of love and compassion that drove the soul music that they adopted and made their own in such a powerful fashion.

With Larry Love at my shoulder, punching the air and calling for Pyro to get on with the preachin' and with fellow Irishman, Shane McGowan, waiting in the wings to accompany RoL on their final curtain call this was a night to remember and you can understand why there is an industry buzz surrounding this currently almost unknown band.

Continued....