‘Better Days’ by Rocket Ship TV (Album)

Rocket Ship TV: avid record collectors

Samuel Jones and Charlie Carmichael step away from the day job and dream of studio perfection on their debut album

Samuel Jones and Charlie Carmichael are an Essex duo and members of guitar psych band Velvet Morning. As “avid record collectors” and with an appetite for experimentation they’ve aspired to craft a dream pop album that pays tribute to their many influences.

It isn’t too long before proceedings hit their stride; the country twang of Always On Your Side sounding like a blissed-out Sleepy Jackson. But after a couple of missteps it’s the middle duo where the album really finds its raison d’être. Tallest Brother is a highlight, the subtle keyboard riff a joyful change from the dirge-like and unremitting Better Days that preceded it, and First Time finds just the right amount of guitar crunching to avoid meeting a similar fate.

The album continues along in a similar vein with tips of the hat to Galaxy 500, The Stone Roses and Real Estate along the way. Lyrics are intentionally kept to a minimum; snapshots appearing gently from the ether then melting away again leaving the listener to make their own mind up as to meaning. Ultimately it’s when Rocket Ship TV break out from the shadows of their forebears and stamp their own seal that they suggest there is more to come from this “project”.

Verdict: Dream pop which promises to only get better

Daniel Haskell

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