The Bloody Beetroots describe themselves as the bastard sons of The Misfits and Daft Punk – a new breed of ‘rockstar DJ’. The Italian duo, Bob Rifo and DJ Tommy Tea successfully stomped their foot in the face of the dance world in 2008 with the release of their debut EP ‘Cornelius’, which was in the top 100 international iTunes downloads that year. ‘Romborama’ is the first full-length from The Bloody Beetroots, an intensely hyped and marketed release by the Dim Mak team. But, the album in its entirety is a let down, a case of ‘less is more’, in their case ‘more’ simply being too much.
Romborama features twenty tracks, eleven of which were already available online prior to its release. The album opens explosively with the title track with guest vocals from ‘All Leather’ screaming, “This is Romborama!” before launching into an explosive mix of warping synth, heavy drums and a haunting orchestral riff. A sound you would expect from producer Bob Rifo, a student of classical composers, and member of hardcore band ‘Rifoki’ (www.myspace.com/rifoki).
The album continues without much purpose or flow. It feels as though a large portion of the tracks were included as ‘fillers’. It’s not as though there are any tracks that are particularly bad, there is just that sense of déjà vu every time the beat drops, reminding your system that it’s time to bounce… again.
There are however, some excellent tracks on Romborama. Warp 1.9, the first single is already a dance-floor anthem with “One, two, Woo woo!” being screamed in clubs from Paris to L.A, or Rome to Auckland, if you were lucky enough to see them live at ‘The Studio’ in July. Anacletus and Theolonius (The Voodoo King) are two bone crunching bangers, House N° 84 is a tasteful digression from the balls to the wall intensity, and the Italians even expose their sensitive side on Mother. One surprise is their decision to not include Dimmakmmunication, which I considered one of their strongest pre-release ‘giveaways’.
Check out the video for WARP 1.9 (Feat. Steve Aoki)
Romboarama has all the right ingredients to be an incredible album. The Bloody Beetroots have created a fresh sound that may even be capable of converting a few Slipknot fans to dance music. It's a party record, full of tracks to jump around and shake your fist to. However, it would have had more of an impact if it were half as long. After all, it's better to have your fans wanting more, than getting bored.
This is my Romborama (cheeky, I know!)
- Romborama
- Dimmakmmunication
- House N° 84
- Awesome (Feat. Cool Kids)
- Anacletus
- Warp 1.9 (Feat. Steve Aoki)
- Mother
- Theolonius (The Voodoo King)
- Cornelius
- Warp 7.7
Check out these tracks if you still need convincing to buy it:
The Bloody Beetroots – Romborama (Feat. All Leather) (Link Removed By Request)
The Bloody Beetroots – Awesome (Feat. Cool Kids) (Link Removed By Request)
And I really wish this track was included:
The Bloody Beetroots - Dimmakmmunication (Link Removed By Request)
