Unashamed, unabashed rock n roll from Manchester newbies.
Listening to this debut five tracker from The New Breed, MV felt old. And if you forgive us for writing in the first person, we’ll explain why.
Y’see, when this reviewer was a kid, I’d listen to the Friday Rock show in bed with a portable radio my Gran had bought me. I was about 12/13 and every Friday Tommy Vance would play something I loved. I’d go downstairs on the Saturday and explain this excitedly to my dad, who would, after I had bought it in the record shop with my pocket money either that day or when I’d saved up later, say these words without fail: “who’s that who sounds like Led Zeppelin?”
Fast forward 30 years and dad still thinks everything sounds like Led Zep, and now MV is the one listening to music made by hungry young bands.
And when it comes to The New Breed, it’s like this. If Aerosmith, Skid Row, Guns N Roses and early Whitesnake had made a record at some point, then this is the result.
All the chutzpah you could wish for, and “Soul Train” not only comes with a mighty swagger, it also has a fists in the air “hey, hey” part – and you just know they do this live too.
“Lie To Me” sees singer J Michael Ward scream gleefully at its start as if he has wanted to sing this song all his life, and “Get Some” is bursting to rock so much it starts with a solo (bonus points are granted for doing this as a double guitar thing a la Thin Lizzy) and Ward roars his best Coverdale vocal line.
“Heartbreaker” might start slowly, but don’t be fooled, this ain’t a ballad. Rather, this is a song so filthy that – a bit like GnR’s “Anything Goes” – you don’t know whether to be sorry for the girl involved or wish them luck for having the…..urmmm…..balls to pull it off (ahem!). Plus, it’s got cowbell in, so sod it, that always rules.
A damn fine collection ends with the bluesy licks of “Black Seas, High Tides,” which builds to a fine crescendo and debates about how far they can go can be left for another day. Because, consider this. The New Breed have made the EP they wanted to make, and have done it superbly.
All blokes of a certain age are meant to say the words, like my dad still does: “they don’t write ‘em like that anymore.” It turns out they do.
Rating 8/10
