The Ruling Class - Tour de force
(Shelflife Records)

Like C.S. Nielsen's pitch-perfect recreation of Johnny Cash's style of songwriting, the part-Scandinavian/part-British The Ruling Class similarly adopt a faultless Stone Roses style (with maybe more than a few nods to The Charlatans). The reason artists like this succeed is because they follow in exactly the same footprints as their influences -- not beating around the bush (because the songwriters can't quite find the vein they're attempting to replicate), or providing listeners with a karaoke-esque recreation, but deftly hitting every emotional chord that caused us to fall in the love with legends like Johnny Cash and renowned Manchurians The Stone Roses. Our parents have boundlessly assured us that "there will never be another group like The Beatles," and maybe they're right, but The Ruling Class have stepped into shoes that haven't moved quite like this in a long time. There's an art to what they have done that is beyond imitation; it's more like disproving the idea that lightning never strikes the same place twice.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson