Review by Gary Cordwell
Release date: 19 February 2016
This, dear reader, is rock as God intended it to be. A drummer, a bassist, one guitarist and a singer. A good, honest, four-piece band. There’s energy. Lots of energy. There’s swagger, style, bravado. sex, fun, and a glorious absence of ballads. There’s a subtle hint of blues. There are skinny limbs, big hair, Gibsons and Marshalls, deserts and sun. These L.A boys do this so well that you’d swear they were British!
This is how our forefathers did it – they gave American music back to America after injecting it with a healthy dose of ambition and attitude. Don’t believe me? Then just watch the video at the top of this lowly review – Oh My God indeed! How can you not love it? Why are they not huge? There hasn’t been a straight ahead rock song this catchy and infectious in aeons. A bluesy figure leads straight into that chorus. It’s a big budget Free. Classy, confident and one hell of a calling card. Surely an early contender for song of the year?!
The rest of the album is none too shabby either. This is bona fide goodtime stuff. These songs don’t drag their feet – they groove, shuffle, shimmy. They sidle up beside you and whisper filth in your ear. they are paced beautifully, there’s light and shade, slinky blues rock solos and wah wah scorchers.
There are small hints of other bands but these boys are no copyists. There are Bon era, AC/DC rock-outs as well as the tattooed sleaze of Aerosmith or Buckcherry. ‘Abre Los Ojos’ resides on the poppier side of the Foo Fighters street and ‘Get It Right’ has a touch of Steve Jones in the riff. But there’s nothing punk about them, they’re having too much fun to be pissed off.
What they are, though, is very rock n’ roll. ‘Born To Make Me Die’ even has a Link Wray intro and a Scotty-Moore-on-viagra solo. The album screeches to a finish with a hum of feedback and a tambourine tossed to the floor, their work here is done. And you finally remember to take a breath. These 10 songs are shot through with a hungry, youthful dose of adrenaline. They play with a raw, freewheeling abandon and, although well produced, the rough edges haven’t been smoothed out.
More than anything, you are reminded of ‘Appetite’ era GNR. Not so much in the sound but the excitement, energy and attitude. They are here in spades. These guys are the new thieves in the rock n’ roll temple – and they’re shagging and carousing as they go! There are no frills, no gimmicks. They don’t need them. They just fucking rock, baby! So, pour yourself a few tall Lemmys’, kick your brain into touch, and enjoy. If there’s any justice in the world, Love and a .38 are going to be huge.
9 out of 10
Track listing:
- Oh My God
- Just Like Regret
- Went Away
- Abre Los Ojos
- Big Leg Betty
- Holy War
- I Won’t Wait
- Not Comin’ Home
- Born To Make Me Die
- Get It Right
