The Conformists

In 2002, Raf Rouco released The Conformist, and the album was voted Top 10 Record of 2002 by Rhythms Magazine and the Melbourne Sunday Herald Sun. In 2006 Raf Rouco assembled a band and called them The Conformists. They soon released Night Flower. Raf Rouco grew up in western Sydney and the rest of the band come from all over the place. The music stems from Rouco's love of early pop but on the new record you can also hear Aimee Mann & Elliott Smith, Ed Harcourt & Radio Head. The music is warm and sophisticated with clear country and soul influences wrapped up in ambitious arrangements. It evokes an earthier sonic landscape of late 60s and early 70s records, by groups such as Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds and The Band. On Night Flower the remarkable Sandra Marinovich performs all vocals. Sandra is playing all over London with Sandra and the Memory Machine. SOME REVIEWS - Raf Rouco and his Sydney based cohorts, who include Sam McNally, Hamish Stuart and the fine Bruce Reid on lap steel, have mixed 60's influenced pop, psychedelic touches and most of all, unusual and well thought out songs. Very impressive. I keep listening and discovering with this one. Keith Glass Rhythms. Rouco is a man unphased by trends, putting substance over stylisation. Devoid of gimmicks hailing back to and inspired by the enduring, unpolished pop poetry of the late 1960s and early 1970s, by artists like The band and Bob Dylan. Dylan Behan Revolver. Sydney based Rouco contemporises 60s/70s influences with charm. Psychedelic touches meld with a west coast laid back grove. Rouco is forging his own style. Keith Glass Sunday Herald Sun. Raf Rouco plays authentic guitars that pump out a late 1960s, early 1970s sound and sings his songs with a dreamy, romance-filled voice. Its music straight from the heart. The music stems from his love of pop and comes without pretense or gimmick. Listening to this album is akin to boarding a nostalgia bus. Manly Daily. With a voice thats extraordinarily pure and angelic, songwriter and guitarist Raf Rouco has really struck gold in singer Sandra Marinovich. This is the perfect vehicle for a set of songs that sort of wanders around the pop meets roots ballad, from the achingly beautiful in You Missed The Train Again to the vaguely Beatlesesque Breathe, without ever really referencing anyone else around, except perhaps the Beatles and thats no easy thing. Michael Smith Drum Media. A FAB new Aussie act -- think Wilco, Radiohead, Gram Parsons, The Band & Bob Dylan (if he was a girl). I COMPLETELY adore it. Jo Metcalf Festival Director, Salisbury International Arts Festival. The whole thing sounds like a late period Beatles/Big Star influenced Nashville recording back in the days when experimentation was in vogue in that town. Guests Sam McNally and Bruce Reid add some extra class while Rouco's multi-layered guitars are perfect, the songs aching and often ethereal. Keith Glass Country Music Capital New. This EP has you longing for more. Singer Sande Marinovich produces a beautiful sound in You Missed The Train Again. And while the songs drift from pop to roots-based music and even country, songwriter and guitarist Raf Rouco is definitely on to a good thing. Lisa Muxworthy Manly Daily.