Black Pistol Fire have always done things their own way. Two piece bands always do, it seems. There is more than the usual oddness about the Canadian’s, now based in Texas.
And this is probably why I like them so much.
I get the “signature sound” thing, you know what’s better? Those who think the rule book is a starting point. That’s been the ethos, it seems to me, of vocalist/guitarist Kevin McKeown and drummer/bass synth player Eric Owen since the get go.
I became aware of BPF early on, I’d got their debut album. Looking back on it a decade or so on, if it’s not a “different band” then it is very much, a refined version.
From the outset – the title track – that’s clear. It’s funky, overtly pop tones, recall the X-Ambassadors as much as they do White Stripes (a band that BPF often drew comparison with). There’s elements of that rawness, though. The lead guitar is very much from the primal school, that’s for sure.
It is, perhaps, not that much of a surprise, in fairness. The singles that were dripped out over the last few months have pointed to the idea that this was going to be a special record – and it is.
“Pick Your Poison” is – from a personal point of view – the type of stuff that I wished Rival Sons did instead of the stuff they actually do. There’s a real dancehall quality to these, a real crossover potential.
There’s a real urgency, for example, to “Holdin’ Up” , but they balance this out by a couple that are from another place altogether. “Never Enough” for example, is proper funky, like something Prince would have done, and “Wildfire” is the type of Chart Friendly stuff that might well have got Adam Levine a new wing on his mansion.
Whilst it would be fair to say that, by and large, this is a brave new world, there’s still a harshness about this. “Wildfire” not only has the guitar sound, but it also very calmly suggests “fuck you and the horse you rode in on” as part of its chorus.
And it’d also be fair to say that whatever path this takes, they are all built on the same foundation – the hooks are massive. “Black Halo” is post something or other, no doubt, according to those that are more hip then me, but it sounds like an arena rocker wrapped around a Slow Readers Club song. “Temper Temper” likewise, has something hypnotic about it. It’s got 80s groove, a loop riff and it and its polished as can be.
“Level” is more like the “old world” if you will. And, if I have tried hard not to say things like “Royal Blood”, then so massive is the rock here, then I am sorry, I can’t avoid the cliché.
Scanning the tracklist when it came, I did hope/wonder, whether “Always On My Mind” might be an Elvis cover. It isn’t, but it’s a glam stomper, so you could wear a jumpsuit if you wished. Up to you.
The last one carries on along the same lines. That is to say it does its own thing, and “Beyond The Blue” is in its own way a microcosm of “Look Alive” in that it is a melting pot, but somehow, all these disparate ideas all work and sound incredibly cohesive.
There’s cliches about pushing the boundaries and everything, but right here, right now, Black Pistol Fire don’t even know boundaries exist.
Rating 8.5/10
