rival sons rival sons ep

Released: 10 January 2011 Label: Earache

Certain sections of the rock media have been touting Rival Sons as being the next big thing and happily, this is one of those occasions when they may have called it right.

Initially, the Californian retro-rockers might seem a bit of an anomaly on the Earache roster, a label more well-known for its forays into extreme metal, but Rival Sons’ music is all about guts, passion and integrity, making them and Earache more natural partners that you might at first think.

Things get off to a strong start with Get What’s Coming, a swamp-dwelling bluesy stomp which sounds like The Answer playing an impromptu encore at a particularly sleazy Deep South bar, but as solid as the opener is, the remaining tracks surpass it.

Torture, Radio and Sleepwalker all find the band shifting into an effortless, economical and enormous groove, based around some truly great Bonham-esque drumming from Miley and flavoured with some expertly off-the-cuff guitar work from Scott Holiday.

Sacred Tongue is a raw and plaintive ballad, which alongside the slow, electric blues of closing track Soul, provides a perfect vehicle for the understated vocals of Jay Buchanan, a man who seems able to combine the sex of Robert Plant, the warmth of Paul Rodgers and the passion of Glenn Hughes into a delivery which, much like the band behind him, is packed with the potential to be a bit special.

Whether Rival Sons will sustain this impressive start for the duration of a full length album is a question for another day, but however you look at it, this is not a bad way to announce your arrival to the world.

by Marcus Jervis