Pop Music Reviews : British Band Roachford All Mixed Up at the Palace

To enjoy the Roachford show at the Palace Wednesday night, you had to do some serious fantasizing.

Mainly, you had to imagine what this black British band--fronted by singer-keyboardist Andrew Roachford--would sound like with properly mixed sound.

The set was maddening. Sometimes, for instance, you couldn’t hear the drums. Then when you heard the drums, you couldn’t hear the vocals. It all had a distancing effect on the frustrated audience, which didn’t get fully involved no matter how hard the band was trying.

But there were enough snatches of brilliance--particularly in Andrew Roachford’s singing--to grab your attention and make you curious about seeing the band under better audio circumstances.

Roachford’s up-tempo music is rock-based, with assorted overlays of funk, blues and pop. Though rock-based, the music’s funk and soul elements stood out in concert--especially the derivative ones. Motown and James Brown influences were everywhere, and Roachford’s vocals often slid into that helter-skelter phrasing that Jimi Hendrix often used.

Besides the sound, the other annoying aspect of Roachford’s set was all those soul-revue cliches, which tended to cheapen the performance.

What is most unusual about this band is its use of rock--still rare for blacks, British or otherwise. Roachford is popular in Britain but its Epic Records debut album, “Roachford,” featuring the fast-rising “Cuddly Toy” single, is just out in this country. Breaking Roachford into this country should be easier since Living Colour broke the color barrier in rock.