Review - Fireworks Magazine (UK)

Here's an album review from the most recent edition of the UK's glossy Hard Rock Mag - Fireworks. This is a qulity mag goes all around the world and we're stoked at the review. Thanks heaps to Duncan, Nicky and all at Fireworks for their support.

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Aussie’s Tonk play stripped back to the bone barroom boogie music which doffs its cloth cap to fellow countrymen AC/DC and Rose Tattoo. Hardly the first to emulate Angus and co but these boys do it with genuine vigour; less plagiaristic than Airbourne and with more grit than Koritini.

‘Redback’ sets out their agenda from the off; big riffs, pulsating rhythm section and vein popping vocals. It’s a simple formula but when it’s done well, as it is here, it’s difficult to beat and as AC/DC have just recently proved, it’s music that
transcends fashion and as the name Rock suggests, it endures.

The songs all come, lyrically speaking, from a region, like the band, south of the equator, if you catch my drift. It’s all girls, girls, booze and girls. ‘Ménage A Trois’ and ‘Golden Girl’’ use a vocoder effect which reminds me of the young cocky Tesla, and on ‘Libertine’ drummer Tristan Davies does a good John Bonham impression, while Stevie Gray and Wayne Wither’s guitars spew out low slung Jimmy Page riffs.

Looks like The Answer have got some serious competition. The most attention seeking song of all is the title track which packs a chorus that’ll knock your teeth out and knee you in the crotch. With a modern production that adds a Nickleback wallop to the riffs, it updates the Aussie rock sound for a new generation. Also, it’s all over in thirty odd minutes, not long enough for it to outstay it’s welcome but long enough for you to want to sew their patch on your denim jacket.

The riffs are good and solid, if not quite in the same league as early AC/DC (but then what is?). However, it’s the way the rhythm section puts the foot on the gas, then shifts gears that gets your heart pounding and you can feel a surge in your testosterone levels when the guitar solos bang in. Does it make you want to writhe on your back and play air guitar? Yes, it does. Mission accomplished. Expect another record soon as this one has been floating around since 2007. For fans of no frills heavy rock n roll keep your eyes on these boys. I know I will.

Duncan Jamieson