Right from the very start of “Rain’s Coming” 10 Gauge make good on their promise to be influenced by the bands of the 1980s. Rob Jewson lets out a laugh that is positively filthy over a riff that belongs right on the Sunset Strip.
So you think you’ve got them pegged. You haven’t. Thankfully they are savvy enough to carve their own niche, and by the time the verse kicks in, there’s a funkiness involved. And that is why, essentially, 10 Gauge are better than most of the hard rock bands who land in MV’s inbox each week: that they are prepared to play with the formula a little.
There’s a Led Zep flourish about “Big Shot” – a more mellow, blues infused thing, and “Hand Your Dealt” broods most satisfactorily in the way that some of the others at the vanguard might – notably the superb Gorilla Riot. Indeed, like them, they can write a hook and understand the quiet/loud dynamic, and whilst you wouldn’t call the London-based five-piece grunge, this is just another example of their happiness to ignore the rules of genre.
In that context “Dirty Little Rich Girl” is a little out-of-place. A Tuff album in 1989 might be the natural home – and don’t get me wrong, sleaze is what I grew up on, and probably 10 Gauge too – but here, it sounds a little dated.
Much better is the title track, the song which ends this five-track affair, a downtuned riff, a chorus that you can sing after the second go round. This is more than enough to get you excited about their potential.
10 Gauge are another one of those bands to put down as a work in progress, but also to keep a close eye on, because for much of “Rain’s Coming” they are bang on target to whip up a real storm.
Rating 7/10
