There’s little I enjoy more in this life than pure and simple rock n roll. None of that “core” stuff. None of that sub-genre nonsense. “Blackened” this, “post” that. Get rid of it. Give me two things. Give me rock. And roll.
Ok, that’s not exactly strictly true, but there’s something about Sweetwood Amber Remedy that brings out my desire to review records like Beavis And Butthead. Essentially, since I was about six years old, I’ve wanted records that were “cool”, didn’t “suck” and made me want to “break stuff”.
SAR do all three. And way more.
There’s a feeling about “Tilt N Shake” (a pinball reference, I think) that it is a nine song compilation distilling, as merrily as you please, everything that has ever been cool in music into nine songs and just over half an hour.
What I mean is, they all sound different. Bound together by one golden thread. Quality.
Not gonna lie here, I took a listen to the intro (the title track is just that) and assumed that I was dealing with an AC/DC type, Airbourne style, beered up bunch of funsters, but “Sky On Fire” quickly ended that idea. Taking us back to the days when Rival Sons were good, the thing swaggers and when Cody Valliant sings “once I sung a hopeful song, but I don’t recall the words”, you have a pause, because, nothin’ but a good time, this is not. Nope. This is loud and fun, but SAR got a message.
And they got guests too. Notably (around these parts anyway) Scotty B. Goode from the superb F. Scott and the Nighthawks, but what they also have is songs like “All We Are”, which sounds like Backyard Babies and thus is mighty.
Do not, though, whatever you do, thing you’ve got this trio sorted. They haven’t come all the way from Canada to play by your rules. Nope, they have a load of soul about “Ya Dig?” and just a touch of Aerosmith. At the broadest, we need a new normal. We do. This can be the soundtrack.
“2020” has clearly listened to Deep Purple (and why not?!) but it lays that horrible year to waste with a driving energy and sassy chug. Speaking of sass, brother, “Mother Lovin’ Truth” adds a primal, funky blues. So much so you don’t notice initially that it deals with racial tensions and police brutality (and by “you” I mean “me”, but I did, eventually).
“Cantcha Feel It?” (and by now you can!) is so 70s it is wearing flares, while best of all might be the glam touches of “Top 40 Radio”. “Stop being so fuckin’ lame” spits Valliant, over a riff that makes me want to dig out my old Vain records.
“Tilt N Shake”, basically, drips with sex. Pretty much. “My Guitar” doesn’t even hide it. It wants to make love to you, and boasts a bass that will “keep you coming” (I can confirm that I’ve listened to the album a few times and it hasn’t, yet) but either way, its proud of its stack harmonies.
So, yeah. Like Joan Jett said “I love rock n roll.” So do Sweetwood Amber Remedy. And they are brilliant at making you shake your money maker, You can tilt it too, that’s up to you.
Rating 9/10
