ROYAL TREATMENT PLANT

I've been carrying on a one-sided love affair with London's ROYAL TREATMENT PLANT ever since I first heard their song "You Don't Need Me" back in October of '06. It made my Best Of mix that month, and I still find it a nearly perfect blend of dance/thrash pop/rock.

Turns out, the band has been keeping some other gems up its collective sleeve, and the members were generous/sympathetic enough to throw a bone to this sad-sack, unrequited-love junkie. Perhaps seeing it as the audio equivalent of a pity-fuck, the group agreed to send me an MP3 of their new single "Carry Me" [available from iTUNES and AMAZON.COM (UK) as a four-song EP].

Lo and behold, a signature sound -- in an "empowering," not "restrictive" sense -- begins to emerge. SAM's sharp, staccato, sometimes siren-like guitar. TOMMY T's understated, retro, sense-of-menace synth fills. CHRIS and DJ's rumbling, cymbal-crash rhythm section. And, above it all, frontwoman PRINCESS P's playful yet authoritatively aggro vox -- effortlessly escalating from a coo to a caterwaul.

BLONDIE as covered by SONIC YOUTH? No, not exactly. But if that's enough candy to get you into the smiling-televangelist-man's Caddy, then go ahead and take the bait. The right tunes can make any ride worth risking.

ROYAL TREATMENT PLANT on MySPACE.

ROYAL TREATMENT PLANT on stage...

Feb 2 2007 8:00P/On The TV present GIRLS!GIRLS!GIRLS! @ The Luminaire/London
Feb 17 2007 8:00P/Feeling Gloomy Club Night @ Bar Academy/London
Feb 21 2007 8:00P/The Social, London/London
Mar 1 2007 8:00P/Another Form of Relief/London
Mar 21 2007 8:00P/Industry, London/London
Mar 28 2007 8:00P/Headphones off @ Catch/London
Mar 31 2007 3:00P/Ladyfest @ The Loft/Cambridge

[MP3] "Carry Me"

[MP3] "You Don't Need Me"

[MP3] "Trained"

[MP3] "Funky" [live]