Resque
RECORD REVIEWS
NME 3 March 1990

INTERNATIONAL RESQUE
Yeah! (Davy Lamp)
Excitable seven-inch only with a natty guitar and neat hand-clappy bits which make you wonder Whatever Happened To The Jags? Brash, simple and much against my previous judgements of them, ridiculously catchy.
Steve Lamacq
NME 18 January 1992

RESQUE
Life's a Bonus (Musidisc / All formats)
So you call yourself International Resque for more moons than you'd care to remember, then drop the first half of the name just as Thunderbirds blazes its way back into the nation's consciousness. Hurrah! At least of myriad support dates on Carter's tour can soothe Resque's disappointment and justify the jollity which swamps 'Life's A Bonus' like a particularly cheap aftershave.
This is the kind of album which - were it courting - would showers its girlfriend with chocolates and bouquets; old-fashioned and impeccably mannered, Resque's offspring is a beast of puppy-like pleasantries and soppy-eyed sentiments.
If the 'Summer Holiday' jangles in the yelping 'Yeah' don't give the game away, then the eager-to-please tingles of 'She Drives My Train' and 'In My Room' take the entire toy box down to the local charity shop. 'Inside' may flaunt some Metal licks, but many of its Beatypop compatriots lack angles and anger, slipping by with the slickness of a bowl of Brylcreem.
And so it goes, grinning and gurning and striving to make the world a better place to be. And why not? If Gary Lineker ever made an indie record, 'Life's A Bonus' would be it. (5)
Simon Williams
LIVE REVIEWS
Melody Maker 23/30 December 1989

INTERNATIONAL RESQUE
OPERA ON THE GREEN, LONDON
From the opening shout of "Okay Sixties retro kids, let's start shaking" to the final "Thank you, music lovers", International Resque take most of the current precious indie influences and scrawl "Madonna Kicks Ass" all over them. Ever since kids from youth clubs learned how to play guitars, ever since The Beastie Boys and Blue Peter showed casuals can make fun pop, sixth formers up and down the nation have been waiting for songs which deal with topics that really matter to the Smash Hits generation. These are the people who realise that SAW can knock out a decent pop tune, who view Miles Hunt as the ultimate alternative pin up and who aren't afraid to sing along to Lisa Stansfield before the gig.

International Resque, of course, have got all the required elements, tie-died chic, a girly nobhead following, a wideboy hearthrob singer, but best of all they treat it all as if it's little more than a private joke. What really matters is that they rewrite the disposable Sixties from a disposable Eighties / Nineties viewpoint, taking Sixties harmonies and blazing guitars and somehow making them sound remarkably relevant. The songs are infectious and funny in equal parts, trading song titles like "I'm In Love With My Social Worker" for tunes and lyrics which show intelligence and a healthy dose of self parody. "Stepping Stone" as an encore, of course, makes it all perfectly clear. International Resque are a Monkees for the Nineties, a comedy show with brilliant songs, when most pop upstarts are desperately trying to be a modern, po-faced Beatles.

More and more fun based guitar pop is turning out to be the face of the next decade. Roll on New Year's Eve.

Ian Watson
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