Roja – ‘Company’, ‘Bad Romance’ And ‘The Evil Stands High’

Liverpool indie Mariachi group, Roja have released the single, ‘The Evil Stands High’, the followup to their singles ‘Company’ and their cover of Lady Gaga’s, ‘Bad Romance’.

The ensemble comprise six members: Simon Bradshaw on guitar and vocals; Chris Doherty on brass; Rachel Brewster on strings; Aron McGhee on drums, Claire Swift playing keys and cello; and Edwin Pink on bass.

The group rose from the ashes of alt-rock band Marlowe, and give frontman Simon Bradshaw a grander backing for his dry lyricism and distinctive vocal sounds. Roja is a great but very charming departure from their previous band, with ‘Company’ taking its cues from ‘The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly’, and conjuring up the spaghetti western soundtracks of Ennio Morricone.

Roja - Company

The band’s take on the Lady Gaga classic, ‘Bad Romance’ is a perfect example of their “modern Mariachi” style, and shows just how fabulous the song actually is, and how easily it’s adapted to horns and guitars.

Roja - Bad Romance (live on the BBC - audio only)

Roja were finalists on BBC TVs ‘UKs Best Part-Time Band’ in 2016 (see their performance here), and mentored by New Order/Joy Division’s Peter Hook. They also received radio support from BBC Introducing, Steve Lamacq, Gideon Coe, and the Late Junction.

‘The Evil Stands High’, with a video released earlier this year is less Mariachi and more of a rockier Bond-theme style sound, yet maintaining the strong brass and Bradshaw’s dusky vocals.

Roja - The Evil Stands High (2017)

‘Promises I Should Have Kept’, ‘The Evil Stands High’, and ‘Company’ are all available to stream on Spotify, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp, as well as from Amazon, while fans should also keep an eye on their website and Twitter for exclusive releases.

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

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