RIVAL SONS - Head Down (2012)

*

The Long Beach, California, quartet RIVAL SONS made a big splash in 2011 with their breakthrough album 'Pressure & Time'. It put the rest of the retro-rock scene on notice: rehash the past all you want, but we're the future.
And with their brand new album "Head Down", they're here to prove it.

Precious few revivalists possess that old black magic to set them apart. But to a fusion of the Classic Hard Rock and progressive blues of the seventies, genuine soul and a gutsy groove, Rival Sons add the real X Factor: great, great songs.
Such an obvious ingredient, but it's amazing how many others miss it.
Recorded in Nashville with Grammy-nominated producer Dave Cobb and Grammy-winning engineer Vance Powell, "Head Down" takes the band's electrifying blend of Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, Free, Deep Purple, The Doors and a dozen others to exhilarating new heights.
Kick the door in, take no prisoners, ask no questions, play it loud; as plans go, it's hard to fault.

Opener "Keep On Swinging" pretty much sums it up: big, bold, swaggering and totally badass, it sets the tone for an album which raises the bar across the board.
The breezy "Wild Animal" and "Until the Sun Comes" contrast nicely with the raunchiness of "All The Way" and "Three Fingers", themselves preludes to the sheer girth of "You Want To" – which recalls Zep at their raucous best – and the mighty "Manifest Destiny Pt. 1", a shadowy, smouldering epic that broods like a black hole.
Although the required ballads aren't the group's strong suit, both "Jordan" and "True" are carried off with confidence and without resorting to slush or schmaltz. Actually, these are superb slow tunes.


Both as performers and songwriters Rival Sons have upped their game, and "Head Down" puts them well ahead of the pack.
It takes a degree of skill to make music that ticks all the Classic Rock boxes without sounding like a shameless exercise in nostalgia, but despite impeccable retro credentials, Rival Sons are doggedly establishing themselves as a vital force for the modern age, too.
A more adventurous beast than the previous album, "Head Down" is a riotous carnival of classic-saluting riffs, sunkissed psychedelia and irresistible hooks, with the band's soul, funk and blues influences thrust joyously to the fore.
"Head Down" honours half a century of Classic (Hard) Rock with reverence, respect and the realisation that this music's still happening, right now.
Remarkable.


01 - Keep On Swinging
02 - Wild Animal
03 - You Want To
04 - Until The Sun Comes
05 - Run From Revelation
06 - Jordan
07 - All The Way
08 - The Heist
09 - Three Fingers
10 - Nava
11 - Manifest Destiny (Pt. 1)
12 - Manifest Destiny (Pt. 2)
13 - True

Jay Buchanan (vocals)
Scott Holiday (guitars)
Robin Everhart (bass)
Michael Miley (drums)





BUY IT !
hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=853743

Read more...

RIVAL SONS - Pressure And Time (2011)

iTunes bonus track edition





Now here’s an impressive release coming out of Los Angeles, a little different from the usual featured in these pages.

RIVAL SONS unleashes something that feels so ultra-cool and hip to listen to, that you’ll want to break out your bell bottoms and platform shoes.

Mixing old-school hard rock with power blues straight out of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Rival Sons may soon be crashing through the door of superstardom with their new album.



There are so many different influences on "Pressure And Time" that it is difficult to pin down what their real deal is. Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cream, The Who, Blue Suede and Steppenwolf are all worshiped here.

Opening with “All Over The Road”, Rival Sons set the pace of a smiley trip down to a very hip road with a fuzz-infused old-school sound that is upbeat and downright fun to listen to.

“Young Love” starts like a vintage Johnny Cash number that turns into something you might hear playing in the background of a Quentin Tarantino motion picture. In fact, this entire release sounds like a great retro-movie rock soundtrack. It is all over the place and smells of cigarette smoke, sweaty women and Pulp Fiction-the film.

By the time you reach the title track, you have slipped into a 1972 haze filled Super Fly night at the movies. The groove is just oozing out of your speakers.

“Only One” is a blues rock number that will have you hitting the repeat button, assuming you can see it through the haze.



The Hendrix-inspired “Get Mine”, clocking in at a bit over two minutes, is a flat-out jamming song with a tasty little solo at the 1:30 mark, and “Burn Down Los Angeles” is filled with enough guitar fuzz to stuff your teddy bear.

Not even 20 minutes into the disc and already at track seven, “Save Me” continues your time warp back to when musicians actually could play their instruments. Musically, these guys are great, and vocally, Jay Buchanan is slamming it on every track.

“Gypsy Heart” is a standout track with plenty of solid guitar work from Scott Holiday and some tasty bass licks from Robin Everhart.

Rounding out this strangely terrific retro-release is “Face Of Light”, a Zeppelin-inspired, mid-tempo love song that is the perfect way to finish off this album.

The iTunes edition features two exclusive bonus tracks: the tongue-in-cheek valvular guitar driven rocker with a stereo panned mix "Company Man", and the Cream-like tour the force "This Life On The Road" which has a 'live' vibe.





Rival Sons have put together a worthy debut and stand out as one of the revivalist bands to watch. If you like Classic Rock, you really can’t go wrong with any of the songs on "Pressure And Time".

Their storytelling ability (“Young Love” and “Face Of Light”) will likely play a bigger role in the band’s future as they aim to keep an old sound fresh.

There’s no doubt that the band can rock and stand as tall as their legendary idols, but listeners will only continue to follow a band if there’s substance behind the music. Fortunately for Rival Sons, they seem to have that area covered.

While not creating anything entirely new, "Pressure And Time" is a great disc that welcomes you back to a time when Rock 'N Roll was just plain good fun to listen to.

Fans of the classic sounds and retro-rock style will really dig this release, and there is plenty here to bring new fans into the genre.

Put it on full blast, sit back, and smile.





01 - All over the road

02 - Young love

03 - Pressure and time

04 - Only one

05 - Get mine

06 - Burn down Los Angeles

07 - Save me

08 - Gypsy heart

09 - White noise

10 - Face of light

11 - Company man (bonus track)

12 - This life on the road (bonus track)





Jay Buchanan: Vocals

Scott Holiday: Guitar

Robin Everhart: Bass

Mike Miley: Drums













BUY IT !

www.rivalsons.com

Read more...