RIVAL SONS – Pressure And Time (2011)

iTunes bonus track edition

Now here’s an impressive release coming out of Los Angeles, a little different from the usual featured in these pages.

RIVAL SONS unleashes something that feels so ultra-cool and hip to listen to, that you’ll want to break out your bell bottoms and platform shoes.

Mixing old-school hard rock with power blues straight out of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Rival Sons may soon be crashing through the door of superstardom with their new album.

There are so many different influences on “Pressure And Time” that it is difficult to pin down what their real deal is. Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cream, The Who, Blue Suede and Steppenwolf are all worshiped here.

Opening with “All Over The Road”, Rival Sons set the pace of a smiley trip down to a very hip road with a fuzz-infused old-school sound that is upbeat and downright fun to listen to.

“Young Love” starts like a vintage Johnny Cash number that turns into something you might hear playing in the background of a Quentin Tarantino motion picture. In fact, this entire release sounds like a great retro-movie rock soundtrack. It is all over the place and smells of cigarette smoke, sweaty women and Pulp Fiction-the film.

By the time you reach the title track, you have slipped into a 1972 haze filled Super Fly night at the movies. The groove is just oozing out of your speakers.

“Only One” is a blues rock number that will have you hitting the repeat button, assuming you can see it through the haze.

The Hendrix-inspired “Get Mine”, clocking in at a bit over two minutes, is a flat-out jamming song with a tasty little solo at the 1:30 mark, and “Burn Down Los Angeles” is filled with enough guitar fuzz to stuff your teddy bear.

Not even 20 minutes into the disc and already at track seven, “Save Me” continues your time warp back to when musicians actually could play their instruments. Musically, these guys are great, and vocally, Jay Buchanan is slamming it on every track.

“Gypsy Heart” is a standout track with plenty of solid guitar work from Scott Holiday and some tasty bass licks from Robin Everhart.

Rounding out this strangely terrific retro-release is “Face Of Light”, a Zeppelin-inspired, mid-tempo love song that is the perfect way to finish off this album.

The iTunes edition features two exclusive bonus tracks: the tongue-in-cheek valvular guitar driven rocker with a stereo panned mix “Company Man”, and the Cream-like tour the force “This Life On The Road” which has a ‘live’ vibe.

Rival Sons have put together a worthy debut and stand out as one of the revivalist bands to watch. If you like Classic Rock, you really can’t go wrong with any of the songs on “Pressure And Time”.

Their storytelling ability (“Young Love” and “Face Of Light”) will likely play a bigger role in the band’s future as they aim to keep an old sound fresh.

There’s no doubt that the band can rock and stand as tall as their legendary idols, but listeners will only continue to follow a band if there’s substance behind the music. Fortunately for Rival Sons, they seem to have that area covered.

While not creating anything entirely new, “Pressure And Time” is a great disc that welcomes you back to a time when Rock ‘N Roll was just plain good fun to listen to.

Fans of the classic sounds and retro-rock style will really dig this release, and there is plenty here to bring new fans into the genre.

Put it on full blast, sit back, and smile.

01 – All over the road

02 – Young love

03 – Pressure and time

04 – Only one

05 – Get mine

06 – Burn down Los Angeles

07 – Save me

08 – Gypsy heart

09 – White noise

10 – Face of light

11 – Company man (bonus track)

12 – This life on the road (bonus track)

Jay Buchanan: Vocals

Scott Holiday: Guitar

Robin Everhart: Bass

Mike Miley: Drums

BUY IT !

www.rivalsons.com