Live
< Royal Treatment Plant at Camden Proud Galleries
words by Kerstin Twachtmann
Damon Albarn once said that he is never comfortable offstage. It figures, but stick him behind a microphone and he’s a critically acclaimed musical mastermind and ’90s icon. Take him offstage and he’s that prick who played the mandolin throughout Britpop documentary Live Forever.Royal Treatment Plant look like a band who might understand where Albarn is coming from. Faced with a crowd of roughly 12 at Proud’s (newly destroyed) Camden venue, their reaction is one of complete nonchalance. You can’t help but like a band that don’t care who’s watching, and RTP would probably have played the same gig even if no one had been there. They just like being up there. Their sound conjures up some Riot Grrl and grunge ghosties, but without trying to drag us back to 1992, and they have at least three things which should make us care: one, a personality; two, a melody (those too cool for choruses can leave now); and three, a punk back story worth reading about. All things considered their debut album should be worth keeping an ear out for.
Originally appeared in volume 1, issue 31 of Loud & Quiet magazine
