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Review |
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On May 1st of this year when Young Guns Gustav Wood
and Ben Joliffe told me all about their “ambitious”
debut album, one with a sound far beyond the relatively
foetal years of their music careers and one that
was certainly not going to be Mirrors: The Sequel,
I listened with an open mind. After all, isn’t
that what every band thinks of their first? And,
let’s be honest here, Mirrors is far from
shabby so moving away would be no mean feat.
Months of ever growing anticipation were today satisfied
by that album landing on my doorstep. From that
first listen two things were realised: one was that
Gustav and Ben’s, perhaps clichéd,
proclamations were bang on the money and secondly,
this debut is special, brutal and honest. All Our
Kings Are Dead is a twelve track musing on the state
of our lost generation; the broken hearts, broken
homes and unbroken dreams battled and won on a daily
basis despite a distinct lack of real role models
to guide us through the war path.
Latest single, Crystal Clear chases the tail of
Sons Of Apathy to open AOKAD in the biggest way
possible; each track has anthem tattooed all across
their Fender calloused finger tips, branded by big
rock riffs and battle cry choruses. These anthems
motivate and simultaneously stick two fingers up
to the world that keeps you down and forcing you
to exceed your own expectations.
Young Guns’ lyrical maturity and melody writing
nous are proven throughout this record with Meter
& Verse, At The Gates and the beautiful After
The War acting as beacons of light. The five-some
show off their versatility whilst never losing what
quintessentially is ‘Young Guns’ –
big chorused, drum heavy, riff layered anthemica.
The content of Stitches and Elements isn’t
what makes the songs, but the raw, stripped back
vocals unveil an endearing and unfeigned vulnerability.
The emotion pouring off every note, lyric and breath
is so rarely heard from a, gulp, pop-rock band yet
at no point is this honesty unbelievable.
The unfaltering spit and sawdust work ethic of the
High Wycombe rock squad has paid off; AOKAD is a
cluster of twelve mature (read: grown up not boring),
relatable and scarily honest rock songs. Although
pegged as pop-rock, this record sets Young Guns
in a different league to their genre peers with
their heady mix of rockability, unequivocal hook
and melody writing talents and dashing good looks.
Brit rock’s biggest breakthroughs of the last
twelve months have produced a stunning and diverse
album that is greater than any Mirrors 2 could have
hoped to be; although Weight Of The World has cheekily
snuck into the dozen. This is a storming debut that
shows the promise of this band of perfectionists
and leaves you completely satisfied. For now.
Listen to: Crystal Clear, After The War and D.O.A.
Catch them: Young Guns are currently on tour with
Deaf Havana as well as popping up at festivals
across the country and have a headline UK tour
scheduled for October 2010.
For fans of: Big, ballsy rock with hooks and melodies
to boot.
4.5/5
Review by Jessica Acreman |
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| Band
Members |
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Gustav (Vocals
John (Guitar)
Fraser (Guitar)
Simon (Bass)
Ben (Drums) |
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Listing |
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1. Sons Of Apathy (Album Version)
2. Crystal Clear
3. Meter & Verse
4. Weight Of The World
5. D.O.A
6. Stiches
7. Winter Kiss
8. Elements
9. After The War
10. Endless Grey
11. At the Gates |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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