rushonrock‘s reviews section has rarely featured such a broad spectrum of guitar driven brilliance but Thursday, Nashville Pussy and Famous continue to push the boundaries within their own distinct genres.
With all three backing up their new releases with UK shows this year now’s the time to open your ears to a clash of styles and a clatter of quality. Some of it’s not our cup of tea but all of it sounds decent enough with a cold beer in one hand and a bowl of salted cashews in the other.
Thursday – Common Existence (Epitaph)
Dubbed as post-hardcore pioneers the admirable Thursday have been making rather good records for more than a decade and yet selling them hasn’t been the band’s strong point. Now there’s nothing wrong with failing to hit the commercial heights but it must be galling for singer Geoff Rickly and his colleagues when bands they have clearly inspired go on to shift several thousand more units.
Common Existence could be the record to change all of that. Produced so slickly the CD almost slides out of your hand, there are enough emo-tinged highs and bass heavy lows to appeal to the uber cool modern rock crowd. And for those who prefer a more classic feel to their guitar-led grooves there’s no doubting Rickly’s ability to hold a tune.
Friends In The Armed Forces is the obvious highlight as it manages to tackle the polictics of overseas conflict without ever crossing the line into preach-ville. Tracks like Subway Funeral and You Were The Cancer were never meant to be the soundtrack to unbridled optimism but Thursday can bring a smile to your face if you look hard enough.
rushonrock rated: 6/10 Common Touch
The pick of this week’s wildly differing trio is another cracking effort from southern rock heroes Nashville Pussy. From Hell To Texas is an absolute romp from start to finish and manages to stay true to the band’s penchant for humour while at the same time delivering a thoroughly professional set.
It’s hard to take a band who pen tunes like Drunk Driving Man, Lazy Jesus and I’m So High too seriously but even at their most outrageous there tends to be a sobering message behind the Pussy’s finest work. This trio of modern classics will have you humming away long into the summer when, no doubt, Kid Rock will come along and popularise one of rock’s oft-overlooked but most appealing genres.
After more than a decade delivering unadulterated rock gems it’s not as if Nashville Pussy can be accused of being a flash in the pan. Three years working on this, their best effort to date, suggests husband and wife team Blaine Cartwright and Ruyter Suys are here for the long haul.
rushonrock rated: 8/10 Pussy Galore!
Check this US trio out and you’ll realise they relesead All The Wicked way back in 2005 back home. Quite why it’s taken so long for the band to push the record over here is anyone’s guess but it’s an album with far reaching appeal – and that’s its biggest problem.
Across nine well produced and impressive tunes just about every genre of rock is covered. Whether Famous go for the post-grunge of opener Black Hole, bass heavy blues, modern metal or classic rock it’s as if Ben Phillips and his mates have opened a text book, learned the relevant chords and given everyone what they want.
Now that’s not necessarily a problem if you’re big enough to sell a bucket load of records and appeal to the mass market this record was made for. In Famous’s case their ludicrous name actually has no bearing on where the band is at and they would have been better building up a fan base based on one or two trademark sounds rather than attempting to cover every angle at once. A lot of what they do is good but very little is original.
rushonrock rated: 5/10 Almost Famous.