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Guns, Sex, and Glory by Rococode

5 stars

Guns, Sex, and Glory is an artistically mature record that should provide the perfect jumping off point for a band ready to overtake the music scene.

There are a lot of big names surrounding Rococode’s debut album. The Vancouver-based band consists of a previous member of Said The Whale, two of Tegan and Sara’s former percussion section and a musician who toured with Hannah Georgas for two years. They’re all impressive resumés, but with the release of Guns, Sex, and Glory, it would appear that the future holds just as much as the past for Rococode.
 
It’s hard to pick a favourite track on this album, but not for lack of options. Blood is strong in its leaps between melodic and frantic, lifting you up and letting you down in all the right places. The equally catchy, Weapon, is brilliant at deconstructing itself and showcasing individual elements. For someone like me, who can find it difficult to focus on individual instrumental sections, Rococode refuses to allow anything to be ignored. The true strength of the album is that it has moments that are grating, eerie and harsh, but they are all pulled together so well that it only leaves you wanting more.
 
The influence of producer, Ryan Guldemond (of Mother Mother fame), is obvious and comparisons are easy to make. Rococode seems to take the same approach to infectious pop music as Mother Mother: the mix of male and female vocals and a strong emphasis on catchy riffs. But Rococode sets itself apart by having a larger focus on the lead vocals, such as in the title track, as opposed to Mother Mother’s focus on harmonies and more frequent use of catchier simplistic melodies. Rococode also infuses orchestral aspects into their album and relies less on the synth that has come to be a huge part of Mother Mother’s sound.
 
Other big names who contributed to the album include other Mother Mother members Jeremy Page playing saxophone, Jasmin Parkin and Ali Siadat on background vocals, and Hey Ocean singer, Ashleigh Ball, is featured playing the flute. On the production side of things, Guns, Sex, and Glorywas engineered by Shawn Penner (Hannah Georgas, Mother Mother) and mixed by John Congleton (St. Vincent, The Walkmen).
 
Being able to shine through all those names clouding up their credits is a huge accomplishment and Rococode has avoided standing in anyone’s shadow. Rococode is cohesive despite their different backgrounds, each song is a different jigsaw puzzle piece that they’ve fit together - and the final product is a unique work of art.

Guns, Sex, and Glory is an artistically mature record that should provide the perfect jumping off point for a band ready to overtake the music scene.

Click here to stream the album!