For a while back there as the second decade of the millennium hit, it seemed that Rival Sons were going to save rock n roll.
To hear the “Pressure And Time” record was to love it, basically.
They lost their way a little, for my money; before a return to form on the “Feral Roots” album, and indeed it takes precisely 46 seconds of “Mirrors” – the opening track on “Darkfighter” – to tell you quite simply: Rival Sons are back, baby.
Because that’s how long it takes for the organ to stop and the riffing to start. Big, thick, dirty. And ace. Crunchier than your cornflakes. And no sugar is needed to taste.
They’ve rediscovered the art of the chorus, too. “Nobody Wants To Die” is a beauty. Crackling with energy, racing about. No meandering, mystical shit here, just timeless and brilliant rock n roll.
Singer Jay Buchanan seems reengaged too. On the Beatles-meets-Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, “Bird In The Hand” everything aligns perfectly.
There’s only eight tracks here – it’s the first half of a double album, “Lightfighter” produced by Dave Cobb, is out later this year – but it’s a substantial body of work. “Bright Light” a more acoustic piece is an absolute beauty. Its hook “I’m a victim of a victimless crime” sticks with you like adhesive, and the solo is superb.
These are grandiose without being overbearing, “Rapture” is massive sounding but in and out in four and a half minutes, and “Guillotine” captures the “classic” sound of the band. The one that harks back to the early days, when it seemed they’d been hiding in Woodstock car park for years.
Perhaps pointedly, maybe a signpost to the next one, who knows? They end with a couple of swirling epics. “Horses Breath” stomps about, full of lyrics that seem to be partly to reassure themselves, “it still burns bright inside” sings Buchanan, as if he’s discussing the very band, while the near title track, “Darkside” finishes it off. The opening groove is gargantuan. Think Kyuss in scope, but there are acoustic passages to follow and it’s the work of a band who knows exactly what it wants.
Guitarist Scott Holliday has spoken about this being their most focused and best record, bands always say that, obviously, but there’s a ring of truth in it here.
“Darkfighter” is a hell of a statement, a sort of “remember us?” If you will. And given what’s to come, maybe it’s a case of “out of the darkness and into the light” for Rival Sons.
Rating 9/10
