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Formed in the Badlands of Southern England on the shit strewn streets of Hastings Rumiko Jr are kings of barfly country rock. A collision between the rawness of Crazy Horse and the sweetness of West Coast harmony singing their sound cohered on the bands debut Lp Broken Down Whiskey Sound. 2005 saw the album released by Spanish label Rock Indiana and lead to the band touring Spain.

After the departure of drummer Billy Gorilla Rumiko Jr recruited Jimmy James to the position and took a sabbatical to rework their sound. Extensive rehearsing was followed by the recording of their new album Haunting The Townsfolk which is available now from iTunes and Amazon.

iTunes UK

Amazon.co.uk

iTunes USA

Amazon.com

iTunes Japan

A mix of uproarious riff-heavy alt-rock songs and delicate mandolin and pedal steel assisted country laments. Recorded live in the studio the album has a feel of real warmth suffused through it, but Rumiko Jr don't come across as rock classicists. For every bar-room piano fill, there's the buzz and sparkle of analogue keyboards; full-kit drum-rolls are countered by the pitter-patter of tiny rhythm machines; limpid acoustic guitar figures give way to over-driven electric distortion.

Rumiko Jr have succeeded in producing a distinctive album with a unique emotional feel, perhaps best heard in slower songs like Bare Feet & Bleeding and Show My Cards, where the the band effortlessly lift the downbeat mood with the lightest touches of vocal and musical arrangement.

Stuart Huggett, Dizzy Tiger Music Co.