The Rumours: ‘Suck It’
THE RUMOURS
SUCK IT
Released on March 19, 2020 (The Rumours)
Review:
I have been aware of The Rumours for some time but never really listened to them aside from checking out the video for their single “I Want Your Love (Want Your Drugs).” About two and a half years ago, The Rumours signed with Kivel Records who re-released the band’s second album Hot Bang with a bonus track. For reasons that are unknown to me, purchasing Hot Bang by my traditional method (i.e. the Canadian version of Amazon) was not available so I never did end up getting the album. In any case, I have always thought The Rumours to play some rather straight forward punk flavoured rock n’ roll highlighted by the raspy vocals from female lead vocalist Carli Foxx.
Although The Rumours were supposed to release a brand new studio album via Kivel Records in the fall of 2018, that never materialized and as drummer Daniel Kluiter explained to Sleaze Roxx earlier this year, the label and the band were simply not a good match for each other. There’s no point in delving any further on why the relationship did not work but it is a bit of a shame because it seems that The Rumours‘ latest album Suck It should have probably been released a lot earlier. Unfortunately for The Rumours, they ended up releasing their new album just at the beginning of the unprecedented and worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. Accordingly, the promotion for Suck It, which included five album release parties throughout the mid-west of the USA in late March 2020 didn’t happen and it seems that the band has been caught in limbo ever since waiting for the pandemic to hopefully pass. That is a real pity.
The Rumours‘ album Suck It is pretty much what I expected from them. Straight ahead punk laced rock n’ roll highlighted by Foxx‘s raspy vocals. For whatever reason, it reminds me a bit of a cross between The Runaways and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts but with less melodies. It seems that it is pedal to the metal almost all the time with The Rumours on Suck It as the group pretty much launches from one rocker to the next without going up for any air along the way. The reality is that if you like one of the songs on the record, odds are that you’ll like all of them as they all feel pretty similar. Although I like all of the songs on Suck It — how can you not like well played straight up punk laced rock n’ roll? — the reality is that there isn’t anything that really makes me pine to hear the record. My favourites on Suck It are the tracks that incorporate more melody such as “Hey You” with the catchier chorus, “Put Your Love On My Face” which sees the band slow things down a tad, and “L.A. Trends” which starts off on the bluesy side and has a good groove to it.
While I think that The Rumours would be a really fun band to see live, the songs themselves on Suck It are good but not great. The Rumours have delivered the type of record that I will almost always enjoy but it’s missing that special something to make it a standout album for the year. It’s simply a good album but not a great one.
Track List:
01. Hey You
02. Never Comin’ Back
03. Electric Blues
04. Caroline Brown
05. Phone Calls
06. Take Me Shake Me
07. Put Your Love On My Face
08. You Suck, Baby
09. L.A. Trends
Band Members:
Carli Foxx – lead vocals, guitar, background vocals, piano (9)
Daniel Kluiter – drums, background vocals (1, 2, 8)
Ela Rose – bass, background vocals
Stu The Dew – lead guitar, background vocals (1, 2, 8), piano (9)
Production:
Produced by The Rumours
Recorded by Kevin Rife
Mixed and mastered by Aristotle
Band Websites:
Official Website
Facebook
Reviewed by Olivier for Sleaze Roxx, June 2020
The Rumours‘ “Hey You” track: