Rooted in the infamous Canvey Island R’n’B tradition, Eight Rounds Rapid channel the fervour of Dr Feelgood, Wire, Gang of Four and Public Image Limited with their gritty tales of the Essex underworld.

The band are making available a video for their track ‘I Like It’, written and directed by Tony Burke and starring Ewen MacIntosh, who famously played Big Keith in ‘The Office’. The video, see below, tells the story of the band performing at a wedding reception where bride absolutes hates them.

The band’s debut album gained excellent reviews from the likes of Uncut, who said, “Edgy, drugged-up thug punk. ‘Loss Leader’ is Thames Estuary crude given a vital contemporary twist. Invest now”. Mojo gave the band a 4-star review and Classic Rock summed the band up: “Thrashing the moody cut-and-shut Mk1 Capri of Essex geezer rock like they stole it. A welcome blast of no-frills, bullshit-free excitement that can only be deadly live”.  Eight Rounds Rapid have also supported Wilko Johnson on two major UK Tours.

The band’s songs are rooted in trad blues, but impulsive guitar from Simon Johnson (Wilko’s son) and acerbic delivery from singer David Alexander make the act sound like Captain Beefheart, John Cooper Clarke and Mark E Smith fighting in a Southend bus depot.

The line-up also features Jules Cooper [bass] and Lee Watkins [drums].  Everett True said, “This is great. Art Brut meets ATV, with a touch of the old Wilkos. With a smattering of all those (rather scary) old ruffians: The Inmates, Nine Below Zero, Dr Feelgood. All that crowd”. But for Eight Rounds Rapid, it’s only ever been about music and storytelling. “We are from this place. We make music of this place”, says singer David Alexander. ‘Objet D’Art’ is the sound of a band long on confidence and short on ego.

Album Tracklisting

 Bully Boy

Practical

Working Man

Johnnie Ray

Ratton

Blacksoul

Lucky7

String Theory

Drink

Pillars

Reverse

Like It

Mystery Simon’s unusual style of furiously thrashing his guitar with no plectrum allows him to hold down rhythm and lead simultaneously, often leaving his scratch plate splattered with blood after gigs, gaining the respect of fans and making for incendiary live performances which have won the band the support of influential voices in the music world, including the writer and comedian David Quantick and Football Factory author John King, who said: “The Eight Rounds Rapid sound cuts to the bone. Add quality lyrics delivered with pace and passion and they are the most exciting new band playing today. A class act. True originals”.

With ‘Objet D’Art’, Eight Rounds Rapid have once again created something real, something special; making an exhibition of themselves in all the right ways.

Glenn Sargeant 

(Many thanks to Chris Hewlett PR for help with this announcement)