In the immortal crooning of Neil Young, "Rock and roll will never die." Yes, in one sense, the groups that have carried the torch may linger past their primes, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers or U2. The next generation has been disappointingly sparse, as I've noted in earlier attempts at reviews. Friends of rock keep the tradition alive in the underground world, but there are bands that show that rock can still be at least somewhat mainstream. One such group to check out: Rival Sons.
Credit to Deadspin's Jamboroo, who featured the above as their "Pregame Song That Makes Me Want To Run Through A Goddamn Brick Wall." And it definitely fired me up to hear a contemporary blues-rock group. Other tunes that I liked so far were Torture and Tell Me Something. These guys can definitely write rocking guitar riffs, and with vocals from a poor man's Robert Plant, I think they're on to something. Interestingly, these three favorite songs of mine were all from different records, hopefully indicating these guys are not just a one-off, lightning in a bottle thing. Even songs that start off on the wrong foot for me -- a hokey beat like All Over the Road or head-scratching Elvis-impersonating vocals in Young Love -- eventually turn out to have something in them that I appreciate.
Whether Rival Sons can be a part of a new wave of mainstream rock remains to be seen. It's an uphill battle. Reviews (and Deadspin's offhand comments) struggle with what to make of a band that is in many ways so derivative. Comparisons to Led Zeppelin aren't an insult, but many seem to want something more original from new artists. That, and somewhat unsettling redneck associations (as per Wikipedia) for a band with LA roots...
As my lead-in suggests, I have no problem with a band putting out new songs that remind me of the greats. Rival Sons are no cover or tribute band. I respect that they seem to know what they want to sound like, and stick to it. When you put originality above aesthetics, you end up with hipster crap that only vaguely qualifies as rock. I like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment