Review: Oceans of Venus
XFM

In a world populated by skatepunk pseudo-metal and frat boy fart-lighters Rachel Stamp are indeed a tonic. 
Older and wiser than many of their peers, this sex-Glam four-piece have used their influences to make a record that eschews the vagaries of the charts to deliver a classic rock masterclass. The journey through those influences is a scenic one indeed, taking in Faith No More on the cinematic opener 'Starbirth In The Triffid Nebula', through decadent early 70s Bowie and Bolan, picking up a Motorhead riff to great effect on the single 'Black Cherry' before breathlessly closing on the affecting Mansun-esque finisher 'Victory'. There are moments that miss the mark, particularly the rock folly of 'The Loveless' which can't even be saved by the line "Stay here in my bed/Just ignore the stains," but the riffs and melodies are mostly excellent, carried throughout by David Ryder-Prangley's Paul Draper-style vocal.

'Oceans Of Venus' contains everything a proper rock record should: muscular riffs, real hooks and rude words. Let Rachel Stamp on your stereo, you won't regret it.
SK
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Review: Oceans of Venus
Organ Magazine

We needed a killer album, we got it.

Up until now, the very best Rachel Stamp recordings were to be found way back on the original scratchy lo-fi demo tape that caused all the initial interest in the first place - that is, until the metallic KO of second track "Les Oceans des Venus" changed everything. Until the moment when that second track kicked in in such a forceful demanding way Rachel Stamp had failed to really really truly deliver - sure their records have been good, there's been great moments, but until that second track kicked in and nailed it right up there we've all had our nagging doubts... Rachel Stamp at last have made that slightly crazed killer of an album to back up all the great gigs and all the glitter chaos.

 Black Cherry is the best Kiss song ever - nailed-on confronational and completely and utterly in your face, smudging your make up and pushing you down in the gutter. This is razor sharp, stiletto sharp - just the right trashy cocktail of 70s biting glam sleaze, 21st century hard edged modern sounding metal and just that hint of knife twisting back-stabbing pop. Don't get the idea that it's all throwaway either, there's depth in their shallowness this time. David knows he's a cliche, he delights in it; Will Crewdson still wants to be in Warrior Soul; Shaheena drips all the glitter dust and extra colour with her fizzing keyboards and synths; Robin 'best drummer in England' Guy glues it all together. 

Permanent Damage is Cheap Trick, Twisted is just that: deranged, firestarting, cheap and nasty stomping punkoid romo-glam. Metallic S&M chic, glorious outragious cliche after cliche, sleeping with the angels, waking up with the living dead - infectious (almost gothic) pop metal flamboyance that Marilyn would kill for... 

Rachel Stamp finally did the lot, the antidote to all that pseudo angst and fake dysfunction that's cluttering up rock...

yeah - it's good, they did it at last.
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DIY GLAM METAL: Independent on Sunday

Oceans of Venus (Pure Stirling) 

Welsh/English/Canadian glam-metal monsters defy all music biz logic. Masticated and regurgitated by the major label machine some years ago, diminutive frontman David Ryder-Prangley decided not to crawl under a rock and die, and instead took his band the DIY route. Rachel Stamp are now the focal point of the New Glam Underground. They specialise in unashamedly Old metal kicks and Oceans of Venus, their self-released second album is a glorious Kiss/Crue/T Rex/Prince collision, executed with a devilishly dirty mind and exquisitely bitchy wit. An addictive antidote to sexless nu-metal posturing. 
By Simon Price 4/5
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Extra, extra! Read all about it: Britain's hardest working perverted purveyors of pure poodle pop power take a gothic prog rock concept album excursion! 

That's right, kids, after seven years, two albums (including one live album, 'Stampax') and too many record contracts to think about, David Ryder-Prangley and the Rachel Stamp gang have made the difficult second studio album. There's no 'Hey Hey Michael...' or 'Spank' here, oh no; it's more 'Dark Side Of The Moon' than 'Monsters Of The New Wave'. 

It starts off quite delicately, with 'Starbirth In The Triffid Nebula', a acousticy piano tune, with a driving,doom-laden, relentless outro, which sets the tone for the rest of the album. 'Black Cherry' combines the best moments of Kiss and AC/DC into one storming epic, while old song 'Superstars Of Heartache' has been given a glossier coating. There is definitely lots of Prog afoot in tracks such as 'Starbirth...' and 'The Loveless', a duet with the Mediaeval Baebes singer Katharine Blake, billed as taken from the musical 'Twenty-five Days Of Hell' (a line in 'Monsters...') - a proggy duet about lost love, which scares many crowds live. 

Those longing for the Rachel Stamp of old, do not fear - there are still a few anthems to keep you going. 'Do Me In Once And I'll Be Sad, Do Me In Twice And I'll Know Better' is the poppiest thing the band have ever done, 'Twisted' is 'Brand New Toy on amphetamine, while 'Permanent Damage' bounces along with glockenspiels-and-synths-a-go-go. 

So, kids, what have we learnt from all this? Is a change of direction a good thing, or just embarrassing on the permanent record? For Rachel Stamp, 'tis the former, and I give you one piece of advice with this album: as the last track ends, press 'play' again. You won't regret it. 
 
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars (out of 5)
Author: Alex Wisgard
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