The Victorian English Gentlemens Club - Love On An Oil Rig

If it’s shouty noise you’re after, The Victorian English Gentlemens Club are your band. Love On An Oil Rig is the Cardiff-based band’s sophomore album, which has already seen singles Parrot and Watching The Burglars released in July and August respectively. Yes, they know there should be an apostrophe in their name. But no, they don’t care.

Parrot, the lead single from the album (as previously mentioned), begins simply as a wall of noise: a thick dirty bass line and mass-singalong “oooooh” prove to be an intriguing combination, as guitars which seem artistically out of tune are picked in the background. Towards the end of the song, it becomes almost ‘normal’ (whatever normal actually is), and something which resembles a melody is present for the briefest of moments.

Watching The Burglars then follows on, which is definitely one of the standout tracks on the album. Catchy, with a pulsing drum beat, this is the first track on the album that resembles a 'traditional song'. The chorus really does loiter in your ears, but as Bored in Belgium begins, it batters that chorus and replaces it instead with its own catchy “lalala”s.

TVEGC continue their excellent brand of noise-pop with Periscope Envy, a powerful blast of energy before Worker and Driver’s Companion slow down the tempo and reveal a more laid-back style; showing that the band have the talent needed to produce a versatile album. The energy is recovered, though, on Women Versus Children: a vigorous track which once again features that distinctive slab of bass and heavily distorted guitars.

Possibly one of the most interesting songs on the album, musically, is The Venereal Game, which could possibly be construed as TVEGC’s take on a blues song. Strangely reminiscent of the likes of Alabama 3, this is most certainly one of the best tracks on the album, and its as catchy as its name may suggest!

Overall, this album does not disappoint. An album with track names like Periscope Envy, Love On An Oil Rig and Bored in Belgium really couldn’t, could it?! Although it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, there is undeniably a place in today’s music industry for an album which is different, inventive and thought-provoking. And this is that album.


Love On An Oil Rig is out on CD/Download via This Is Fake DIY Records from 7th September. Single Watching the Burglars is out now.
For more information visit http://www.thevictorianenglishgentlemensclub.co.uk/

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