Despite rave reviews, German rockers The New Roses have yet to achieve the success they deserve in the UK. We can speculate about the reason for this- one being that though they defy pigeonholing, their sound is totally un-German! Hopefully this is about to change, having just toured with Massive Wagons, but too soon to bolster a small turnout at the Dome in Tufnell Park, just up the road from their previous two London headlines at the Underworld.

Indeed the late addition to the bill of Empyre seemed an attempt to add to the crowd. They were an odd match as while the New Roses specialise in party hardy anthems, the Northamptonshire band who have built quite a reputation on the circuit come from a much darker place and indeed their strapline is ‘killing the vibe’.

Singer Henrik Steenholdt has a marvellously deep and rich baritone which the slow tempo of their songs brings out, be they metallic (‘Cry Wolf’ from latest album ‘Relentless’ being a case in point) or wide-screen soundscapes that owe more to U2, Floyd or even indie rock (‘Stone’ and ‘Hit & Run’). ‘Only Way Out’ was the nearest to a hook that could in your brain, before ending with the title track of ‘Relentless’ and ‘New Republic’.

Their self-deprecating humour has become a running in joke (though I wonder how it would translate to a non-English audience) and I was chuckling out rather too loudly at Henrik’s opening remarks “are you having a good time? Well you’ve come to the wrong place’! This nonchalance also seems to have had an impact on their fans- I know for a fact many of them were there, yet when he asked how many people knew the band or had their albums, there was barely a squeak. There is an extent to which you either get them or your don’t- yet I must admit that while the musical style doesn’t appeal to me, I hold them in high regard.

As The New Roses came on to the strains of ‘Pretty Woman’, it was clear there had been a line up shake up since the Underworld show 13 months ago . Guitarist Norman Bites was back in the fold and his flowing blonde locks, short but electrifying solos in his flying V and mastery of classic guitar hero poses, made a huge difference. But his immediate predecessor the solid but less flamboyant Dizzy Daniels was retained, mainly on rhythm but taking a couple of solos. That in turn allowed singer Timmy Rough, sporting a noticeably shorter haircut, to be pretty much a full time frontman.

His distinctive raspy voice (Google ‘nominative determinism’) gives a harder edge to some insanely commercial songs, of which an opening pair from last album ‘Sweet Poison’ in ‘The Usual Suspects’ and ‘Lion in You’ were both insanely catchy and already got a few people punching the air. The momentum was maintained with the story song ‘Life Ain’t Easy (For A Boy With Long Hair’, proving that the stereotype of the humourless Teuton is exactly that, and ‘Nothing But Wild’ with bursts of swift soloing from Norman was a glam metal classic worthy of the likes of Danger Danger.

Joking that they were bringing back the lost art of the power ballad, Timmy donned an acoustic and successfully got us waving our phone lights in the air to ‘All I Ever Needed’ while ‘First Time for Everything’ was a little rockier but equally melodic. Admittedly offering nothing original, this was an extraordinary run of incredibly strong songs only broken by ‘Sweet Gloria’ which didn’t quite hit the same mark.

I’m normally no fan of covers, especially overplayed ones, but ‘Rocking In the Free World’ was a suitable showcase for the tight and no nonsense approach of a band completed by drummer Urban Berz and bassist Hardy. Indeed the New Roses cover a variety of musical bases and both ‘Dead of Night’, apparently only just introduced to the live set and ‘Devils Toys’, followed by the briefest of solo spots from Norman, were distinctly heavier than what had gone before.

However ‘Glory Road’ was another rousing good time anthem, with a heartland rock feel and ‘who-oah’ chorus and the superb ‘The Veins of This Town’ even reminded me in its songwriting vibe of Tyketto. The rest of the set was one singalong after another with a fast and furious ‘Warpaint’ followed by ‘Forever Never Comes’ with Bon Jovi-like chanting and the anthemic youthful tale of Down By The River, as if Bryan Adams had grown up in Wiesbaden rather than Vancouver.

There was a surprise for the first encore, Timmy solo and acoustic on ‘One More For The Road’ showing what a fine songwriter he is, then another huge anthem in ‘Every Wild Heart’ and what judging from audience requests during the show is their trademark song, ‘Thirsty’ with the band jamming to a climax.

Impressively a 90 minute set flew by with barely a pause for breath between songs. I just hope that UK breakthrough is imminent, as I certainly left wanting to see them again as soon as possible.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Josh Taerk Sunday Sessions 2024

Latest session: Sunday 14 April

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 7 April 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024

ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)

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