Roadfever's '
Wheels On Fire'(
Suisa) is a very pleasant surprise.
Given the band name, I surmised we had yet another bunch of Foghat wannabes on our hands.
And have we? Well, yes. But for all the right reasons. Lots of road songs.
'Hellbound',
'Runaway Train' and yes, '
Roadfever' to add to the title track.
But if you expected (whisper it, as I did) a wheezing, burnt out hulk, leaking oil and spilling blown gaskets, you could not be further from the truth.
Ex Sideburn guitar man, David Pariat wrote the songs with the band's female vocalist Manou Pike, and also produced the album.
It's clearly a low budget affair, but Pariat's used the money well. No frills, no indulgences, just solid, melodic and at times truly inspired hard rock, vaguely bluesy, vaguely southern, reflecting a range of influences and never less than interesting.
The wonderfully named Manou Pike is a ringer for Ann Wilson if ever I heard one. She becomes an emotional conduit for some nicely observed and often passionate pieces of songwriting, all within a sturdy guitar framework. Stir in some punchy drum sounds and a pulsating bass and you have a marvellously low key rock album. One you'll keep going back to.
Admittedly, there's nothing new here, but the band carry the hard rock torch with an athletes speed and grace. '
Do The Right Thing' reaches far into metal territory and returns with a razor clawed riff and a pounding, piston pumping chorus.
Elsewhere,
'Break Down The City Walls' embraces swampy, hard driving heavy rock and a Starship like pop sensibility, while '
Can't Feel Your Soul' recalls
Heart circa 'Barracuda'.
If this band doesn't get signed up by a major soon, I'll be suitably chagrined.
Written by
Brian Monday, June 29, 2009
Show all reviews by BrianRatingsBrian: 6/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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