Sunday 31 March 2013

Theatre Royal - Three Ships EP

EP review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk


Medway's Theatre Royal released one of the great unsung albums of 2012 in 'At The End Of A River, The Sea...', and they now present us with the first release on their own Medlar Records label, on strictly limited edition CD and download. There is a connection to last year's LP here, the lead track is a full-band rerecording of 'Three Ships', now called 'Three Ships (disappear here)', and had this version have been made in time for the album it would have made a great record even better. Akin to an English Waterboys at their most majestic, this track typifies the strengths of the band and gives us every reason to expect more good things in the future.

There are a few clues as to what may be ahead in three brand new tracks. 'Learning How To Be Idle' is slightly pared-down by comparison, relying on little more than an acoustic guitar doing battle with an electric, although there's no denying it's a fine song. The band were lucky enough to be able to demo a new tune at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, and the resulting 'Orchard Song' is currently an acoustic number, yet it would be ripe for a full-band reworking like with the title-track. '(Just Like) A Sunny Day In June' is all hands on deck again and works well. With an acoustic version of stand-alone single 'Katherine's Sleeping' in addition to these, 'Three Ships' becomes a worthwhile purchase for both fans and newcomers, showing the band in various different guises. May they keep on sailing further.





Theatre Royal's website

Stream or buy the EP

Catch them live:

April 19th - XFM John Kennedy Presents... @ The Tooting Tram & Social
April 26th - The Beacon Court, Gillingham
May 5th - Maidstone Fringe Festival
May 19th - The Royal Function Rooms, Rochester supporting SWEET BABOO





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