Virgin (label)
22 March 2004 (released)
18 March 2004
If you like your synths fat, your guitars cheesy and your beats funky then you'll love 'Rubicon' by Alan Braxe & Fred Faulke. For those who feel nostalgic when Miami Vice is repeated on some obscure satellite channel or have an extensive collection of films starring either Corey Haim or Corey Feldman (or both), this may well appeal to your retro tendencies.
Opening with serious eighties-style handclap effects and a drum sound that wouldn't sound out of place on a Madonna track circa 1984, 'Rubicon' could easily been the theme tune to a bad US cop show that never was. Braxe & Faulke either found this recording in a twenty year old time capsule or they REALLY like the music to 'Beverly Hills Cop'(which is commendable).
Alan Braxe was one of the producers who spawned 'Music Sounds Better with You' by Stardust and that sound has been carried through to his latest release with Fred Faulke. The feel-good approach to that tune and 'Rubicon' is infectious and should be in the charts indefinitely, if there is any justice. The promo video is also a triumph, featuring a light-hearted look at the perils of taking your driving test during the hazy days of some lost summer.
