The herky-jerky post-punk revival bandwagon still shows little sign of conking out at present and in NYC/ Japanese alliance THE ROGERS SISTERS we have yet another smart, spiky crew who've already been honoured with a place on the Rough Trade Shops' "Post Punk 01" compilation. Proof that their credentials are buffed up sufficiently, if nothing else.
Thankfully, though, The Rogers Sisters mostly sound like they've earned the accolade on merit on the basis of new mini-album "Three Fingers". Yes, it's wired and spiky, but the Williamsburg NYC trio - featuring two real sisters in Jennifer (guitar/ vocals) and Laura Rogers (drums/ vocals) as well as Japanese ex-pat Miyuki Furtado on bass/ vocals - clearly don't want to be an American Futureheads and realise it's important to reference more than just the first three XTC LPS.
Instead, the perky and enthusiastic "Three Fingers" decides to rip up the current tried'n'tested method and instead comes across as an unlikely - but mostly successful - crossbreed of The B52s yelping vocals and The Au Pairs' tough and rhythmic post-punk sound. And - where the opening trio of "Freight Elevator", "45 Prayers" and "Fantasies Are Nice" are concerned - that's no bad thing. "Freight Elevator" is especially choppy and memorable, while the fiery "45 Prayers" can't fail to make you move and "Fantasies Are Nice" - with its' "Headache For Michelle"-aping basslines brings Jennifer's heavily-accented Big Apple vox to the fore, drips with insatiable lust and finds room for surely the squawkiest sax since Clock DVA's first album.
They struggle when they deviate from this blueprint, though. "Check Level" initially marries dirty fuzz bass with equally scuzzy guitars but comes off the rails with its' migraine-inducing vocals, and the edgy "Five Months" is a strange, otherworldly affair that loses its' way quickly. "The Secrets Of Civilization", meanwhile, also brings in a different dimension thanks to guest Meg Okura's sweet violin tempering Jenifer's Viv Albertine-style guitar scrubbing, but sounds far more successful and - crucially - natural.
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The UK version of the original 7-track mini-LP now comes fleshed out with four additional tracks, including covers of Captain Beefheart's "Zig Zag Wanderer" and the early Cure classic "Object". Both crank up the fun and frenzy levels without hitting the heights of the originals, though "Object" is truly faithful: down to Laura's drumming replicating the gritty 3-beat snare rolls Lol Tolhurst peppers the original with. Diverting, but hardly essential.
Which, in itself, summarises "Three Fingers". Yes, it's an enthusiastic, often euphoric affair and throughout The Rogers Sisters play with a fluidity which suggests better may yet be to come. For now, though, it wears the trio's influences like large sew-on patches on their collective sleeve and that's not enough to convince wholeheartedly over the distance.
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