The Rumble Strips

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“When we started out I liked the ridiculousness of a small group with acoustic instruments defiantly playing as if we sounded like an orchestra – we were like a team of arctic explorers in t-shirts and normal shoes joyfully pressing on. But this time, we needed to think bigger.”

Charlie Waller, lead singer and guitarist in The Rumble Strips, is understandably excited about the band's second album, ‘Welcome To The Walk Alone’. Recorded in a legendary New York studio with one of the world's most in demand producers, it is the result of a band bringing their big ideas to life.  “This record sounds like how we've always sounded in our heads,” Waller says proudly. 

In December 2005, before the latest strain of '60's style soul stormed the charts, The Rumble Strips arrived like a band of pop prophets with their debut single, ‘Motorcycle’ – a soulful brass-enhanced slice of ramshackle rock'n'roll. It was thrillingly out of step with the times. “In the early days, our fans seemed to be a lot of middle aged men who'd latched onto the Dexys Midnight Runners comparisons,” laughs multi-instrumentalist Tom Gorbutt. But soon the band had built a far broader fanbase, headlining the NME New Music Tour and gigging relentlessly to promote their 2007 debut album, ‘Girls And Weather’.