The Primitive Radio Gods' Chris O'Connor has already defied the odds just by getting a record deal. Formerly lead singer of the Santa Barbara, CA alternative rockers, the I-Rails, O'Connor watched as that band disbanded after 1990. An attempt at finishing the last I-Rails album solo, and releasing it independently, failed. Finally, O'Connor mailed this completed album to other label representatives - and Columbia took a flyer on him.
Rocket, the debut from the Primitive Radio Gods, combines aspects of the last 30 years without *consciously* mimicking them. There's Jimi Hendrix-like guitars mixed with a sound based firmly in Public Enemy, with low-fi vocals coming over the top. There's just a brief moment in "Women" where Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" comes through, and the chords from E.L.O.'s "Do Ya" echo in "Rocket". Imagine the notes played by Nine Inch Nails, played solely on guitars, and you might have a better idea of how Rocket sounds.
But the reason that this album will sell millions - and rightly so - is because of the monster hit, "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand" which combines the low-fi sound of Beck's "Loser" with the extremely cool Lou Reed, specifically "Walk On The Wild Side". Combine that with a wonderful B.B. King sample, and this song will be the track that anyone - and everyone - who likes alternative music will be singing. David Letterman was caught singing the sample continually during his evening telecast, and you can bet it wasn't from the original King song "How Blue Can You Be".
If it was a one song album, this story might not have a happy ending. But there's tracks like the aforementioned "Women" and a likely future single, "Are You Happy", which can keep the Primitive Radio Gods' train rolling on down the line. Rocket has ten songs, all of which could receive significant alternative rock airplay. Definitely the smash newcomer of the summer.
