There's been a trend with bands of late attempting to push the sonic envelope by only having 2 band members. This usually takes the form of a drummer and guitar or bass and relies heavily on syncopation between duo to forge an aggressive punk rock sound. The Graveltones do this with bells on. Everything about their sound is percussively abrasive, from Jimmy O thrashing his guitar and his gravelly vocal style to Mikeys pummelling his drum kit indicates that these Aussie rockers have taken things up a gear.
The dirty sound of Jimmy's crunching guitar on the opening track World On A String has a lazy vibe, but don't let this fool you, the track is blistering with energy. It doesn't stop there, the next few tracks come hard and fast at you like a musical quick draw. From the funky This Loves Gonna Break to the hypnotic riffs of Can't Tell A Man, this album is a fireball of tempestuous awesomeness.
In The Throes has the feel of a Led Zep demo. It's polished in it's dark, grimy, bluesy imperfection. There is a terrific riff that runs throughout the track, around the 2.50 mark the song takes a turn and really cranks up the guitar distortion to a Tony Iommi sized growl. It's a blinder of a track.
I'm A Ghost brings in a cleaner sound with some etherial backing vocals and subtle guitar runs underscoring the bridge.
Back To You requires you to shake your head to try and correct your ears from thinking Leonard Cohen is making a guest appearance; it is however Jimmy showing off his wonderful baritone. It's an atmospheric song that wouldn't be out of place in a Tarantino film!
Kiss & Fuck Off returns to the raw, angry, messed up sound that we heard earlier in the album. Come & Find Me has the deranged sound of Helter Skelter and is pretty badass rock n roll.
With tracks like this, it's no wonder they have toured with Rival Sons and been nominated for best new band at the Classic Rock awards. They make Royal Blood sound like One Direction!
