The sound of classic rock never
really dies regardless of how often some may try and claim its demise.
Like Mark Twain it could equally
lay claim to the quote that “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
There are of course times that it
may take a backseat to what is being promoted in the mainstream, but most
people are well aware that any slow ebb in popularity normally just precedes a
fresh flow.
In a sense you could say that as
a genre it never says goodbye, but instead just winks a casual au revoir as it
knows in time its coming back around to do what it does best.
Some have claimed that it is
being a bit tardy on its return, but maybe they should consider waking up and smelling
the coffee as right now there is a vanguard of talent already crashing onto the
beach with acts such as The Temperance Movement, and touring mates The River
68s, garnering rabid plaudits with every gig they play, and now after years of slogging
it out and paying their dues we have the equally talented, and entertaining,
Holy Ghosts looking to release their debut album and carve themselves out a
space in the wider public consciousness with their own original material.
With just weeks to go to the launch
of “Ride Them Down” it can be comfortably said that they haven’t stumbled in
delivering on all the promises they had made either.
Every box is ticked; every step
has been carefully placed, and as debuts go this is as good as it gets.
With bands like The Rolling
Stones and the Faces you could argue that they took a few albums to get into
the swing of things and for them to take more control of their destinies, but that
was then and this is now, and what you can hear from the opening track “Leave No
Stone Unturned” onwards is The Holy Ghosts hitting the ground running.
The country twang that Gram
Parson brought to Exile On Main Street is there, but the band are far from
being a weak facsimile of another acts former glories as this is a vibrant
modern take on a classic sound.
Let’s just say that no one in the
Holy Ghosts is looking to re-enact the summer of love, or even looking to root what
they do too heavily in the past.
Instead with each song it becomes
obvious that as a band they are genuine music fans who have allowed themselves
to partially subscribe to a magpie tendency and take the best bits of what they
love and bring them forward into the present, but only if they can be framed within
their own vision of who they are.
“Devil On Your Side” is a prime
example of this.
The shadows of Neil Young and
Steve Earle loom large, but fail to swamp the band in their shade.
It’s in this ability to maintain
a balance between their influences and their own approach to song-writing that
the magic may well lie.
There’s so much that is reminiscent
of material we have heard before that the songs can comfortably bed in and then
start revealing more of themselves as the listener allows the band to lead them
to where they want them to be, and that’s keyed into what they are doing rather
than what their heroes did.
As an introduction it’s safe to
say that The Holy Ghosts have put their best foot forward, and it’s doubtful
that after anyone listens to “Ride Them Down” that they would consider the
future will be anything but rosy for them.
I would suggest that people get
in early and enjoy the ride they are on.
No matter how good I claim this
to be it will fall short of really conveying how good it really is.
Words sometimes just fall short
of doing that, and this is one of those times.
A stunning debut in ever sense.
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