Guess Who’s Back’ stomps in on bovver boy boot, a tank trawling in slowly behind come the chorus with this obvious statement of intent as opening number. It’s nasty and vindictive in the verses, taking on sense of arrogant glee in the choruses. Some might be offended others find it hilarious, I’m with the latter.
Front man, guitarist Danko Jones himself, bass player John Calabrese and drummer Rich Knox drums are old hands at this, but it rarely makes them complacent, and while focus may be on Jones never doubt that the rhythm section are as important to the overall sound, and the three-piece as a whole excellently tight.
Initially faster with a spine-ching-linglng guitar intro before moving into a steadier chug is ‘Good Time’ albeit also paces variously through a number of lyrical mood changes. A direct follow on to the ‘Guess Who’s Back’, here they’re taking on the role of pantomime villain or real bad dude gatecrashing a party – see, that’s the thing with Danko Jones, their front man looks like the missing Canadian link to Rose Tattoo’s Angry Anderson and Bad Manners’ Buster Bloodvessel and the reality behind the public persona is most likely slot nearly between the two. Jones doesn’t always display frustration, bluster and bloody-minded determination to get a point across though that’s often the overriding takeaway belief. The other side of the coin is someone with the verbal playfulness of the late Phil Lynott battering down the doors against an increasingly woke world. Despite which, while pulling in some Thin Lizzy styled classic rock chord changes along the way, title track ‘Electric Sounds’ is a more mainstream high-energy rocker designed for communal headbanging. ‘Get High’ continues in a hook friendly vein of bubble-gum rock with a jump-in-the-air happy chorus where the “high” doesn’t seem to actually advocate the partaking of drugs, kids, but a general attitude. Some smooth chord changes, followed by a melodic guitar solo, just don’t ignore Knox’s beefy drum kicks on this one.
Numbers like the trundling slower-paced ‘Stiff Competition’ and the semi-sensuous fuzzy bass-heavy ‘I Like It’ may be lesser puppies in the pack, but not throw them out. ‘She’s My Baby’ is Lemmy mashing it up with The Damned, and perhaps, ahem, Mud. Honestly. The faux English lyrical sections, a step removed from Mick Jagger parodies while ‘Eye For An Eye’ is old school rock with a punk attitude and a vocal approach that mimics Lynott one minute, Dave Lee Roth next, and works, both masters of the tongue-in-cheek double entendre. Following on, albeit lyrically maybe it should’ve come before, is ‘Let’s Make Out’ where there’s more bubble-gum rock, taking in a little glam on the sides.
Drawing towards the finish line is the angry rocker that is ‘What Goes Around’ wherein it’s the equivalent of one of those 90s coming-of-age comedy films like Mean Girls given a Goth mascaraed makeover, with a brilliant throwaway line in “Secretly we’re sick of you” expressing a too-often reality people rarely voice out loud about when we should, and the belief suck dickheads will get their comeuppance. If only! “Yes believe it, we’re undefeated!” they declare on ‘Shake Your City’ to conclude this album with the very attitude it rode in on, with gang vocals taking us into the fade out. This may have been written with the intention of becoming a live opening number, but practically any track would do.
Mixing The Damned, Lizzy, Lemmy, some squirty cheese, the odd sexual shenanigan, and a no-bullshit attitude there’s not a duff track among this taught vary-paced set, with lovely clear vocals throughout that – while not immediately family friendly in places you’ll be able to sing-along to on every track within a week. Personally, I needed this high energy rush.
Reviewed by Paul H Birch.
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Electric Sounds is released via AFM Records and is available now (from here).
Track List:
- Guess Who’s Back
- Good Time
- Electric Sounds
- Get High
- Stiff Competition
- She’s My Baby
- Eye For An Eye
- I Like It
- Let’s Make Out
- What Goes Around
- Shake Your City
