The four member rock band Rock 'N' Roll Radio presently consisting of Naehyun Kim (vocal, guitar), Jinkyu Kim (guitar, background vocals), Minwoo Lee (bass, background vocals) and drummer Minkyu Choi ventured to Europe for the first time in early June. During their tour they performed three lives in France. In October 2013 the quartet released the album Shut Up and Dance and KoME took a listen into the 14 tracks of the long player.
The opening title of the album, Red Moon, is pretty entertaining due to Naehyun Kim's vocals, the strong bass and the catchy arrangements. The guitars support but don't dominate the music. On the contrary, they are making much space for the vocal parts. With this song Rock 'N' Roll Radio also set the musical direction for the other tracks. What Should I Do is a bit more of a ballad character but not drowsy or schmaltzy. The falsetto background vocals of Jinkyu Kim and Minwoo Lee tempt to dream alongside the melody. With Mr. the first fast and funny dance rock number comes into play, and invites you to jump and dance around - not only because it is mentioned within the English spoken refrain but simply due to its summer-like rousing beat. Far more mysterious is One Week, which draws attention because of its long "oh" vocals that add a sad note to the sound. The following track, You Never Know, intensity the bright rhythms and an energetic Naehyun Kim with his members in the background.
Breakdown marks an entertaining fast rock ballad, which outstands through the strong bass, a varied guitar solo and Naehyun Kim's vocals. The fast and Caribbean-like Because of You comes next. Moreover Rock 'N' Roll Radio featured another song with Caribbean sounds: percussion, emotional vocals and the catching rhythms are rousing holiday feelings with Ocean. Somewhere in the middle of the song, pace and rhythm change for a short time and create some sort of melancholy. Overall, the track keeps its summer feeling. However, the subsequent You & I is a different type. It seems that the song does not take itself much serious. The occasional occurring "la la la" and the respective unique arrangement let the song sound a bit silly but fun to listen - especially the bridge. The tenth and title-track decreases the pace a bit but surprises with a dreamy guitar melody. The orderly-like spoken vocals somehow stand in contrast with playful bass chords, drums and guitar but you don't need much time to get used to it. Above all, Rock 'N' Roll Radio surprises the listener at the middle of the song with some melodic vocal parts and one or another hard rock guitar riff.
Rock ballad Help Me has a more leisure nature in comparison to the previous track. Next to a relatively high played guitar, the background vocals are standing out once more. Another dreamy piece follows with Neverland, which possesses a pleasant basic rhythm. Furthermore, Naehyun Kim shares the verses with one of his band mates - whether with guitarist or bassist, it can't be said for sure. Under the Light sounds more thoughtful and a bit sad but the slightly distorted sounding guitar solo lifted up the basic impression during the second half of the song. Closing title Eyes is playing with the pace again. Rousing beats and funny vocals ("da da da") inviting you to dance one last time.
Rock 'N' Roll Radio performs a pleasant mix of dance rock, post punk and pop rock that goes directly into your legs. It is also noteworthy that Rock 'N' Roll Radio seems to come out without any synthesizers. All accents were completely set by both guitars, the bass, drums and the vocals' wide range. Who is open to rock music and its many facets, can risk a view into Shut Up and Dance.
A music video for Shut Up & Dance can be watched below:
