The Amorettes are first and foremost a classic hard rock band from Scotland with a solid, pounding and hard-driving rhythm section, and a guitar-thrashing lead singer with a ballsy delivery and a great vocal range. They have written some terrific rock songs, with spectacular riffs and some tasty guitar solos, and can hold their own onstage with any major international rock act.
According to their PR blurb, relentless touring across the UK and Europe has turned The Amorettes into a lean, mean, Rock and Roll machine, leading them to be described as “Like Airbourne fronted by Joan Jett”. Having witnessed their set opening for Europe and Black Star Riders in London back in 2015, I have to agree with the rhetoric, and the latest album, Born To Break stands out from many recent releases through the quality of the production, the intensity of the bass and drums, and the sheer excitement of the guitars!
No need to mention the fact that this is a female three-piece – in the mould of Rock Goddess and Girlschool, and Australia’s very own Tequila Mockingbyrd – they are a three-piece rock band, not a million miles away from Motorhead in their prime!
Can You Feel It kicks off the album with a tight beat and crunching riff, and a vocal delivery from Gill Montgomery that stamps her mark on the track from the start. Comparisons to other all-girl rock bands like The Bangles or The Donnas are interesting, but gone are the days when critics could “hear” weaknesses in the drumming or guitar-playing – these ladies are solid across the board.
A menacing opening to the Hello And Goodbye is driven by the rock-solid drumming of Hannah Mackay and the thumping bass of her sister Heather Mackay who make a sensational team holding down the backing to allow Gill to handle the guitars and vocals.
A great chorus is the highlight of Everything I Learned I Learned From Rock And Roll, with the references to Joan Jett in the lyrics, and the intricate guitar-work in the middle-eight, leading into a slick and laid-back solo from Gill before the song closes out with an acapella chorus that highlights the overall harmonies of the band.
There are a few songs that feature pounding drum beats and tom-toms and the title-track Born To Break opens up with a tasty patter before a rough and dirty riff kicks in and the song explodes – this one will have the crowds going mental. Australian rock fans will perhaps hear the likes of The Black Aces, Dead City Ruins and Massive in the sound – which simply goes to show that good rock music is not defined by gender.
What Ever Gets You Through The Night is the poppiest track on the record, and should get plenty of radio airplay, with a catchy little guitar-lick behind the melodic vocal lines. Another pounding intro to a crushing riff drives us straight into Hell Or High Water which is a straight-up rock’n’roll anthem in the making, with raucous backing vocals, and another ripping solo. This theme is continued through the punchy You Still Got Rock And Roll which includes a jaw-dropping middle-break with a power that slams into your chest as the ladies smash out the chords.
Looking on jealously from 15,000 miles away, there is such a vibrant and exciting ‘classic’ rock scene re-emerging in the UK, with so many new bands picking up the influences of the bands their parents grew up listening to, and applying their much-improved musical abilities in delivering such a variety of quality rock music of a whole new generation of listeners. There is not much that is truly new in the music business, but the
Easy Tiger is another catchy rocker, before the seedy cavern bar-room brawler of Batshit Crazy rips through the stereo, featuring possibly the most powerful singing on the record, and a blistering solo – as well as the cracking line “gotta dance like Patrick Swayzee”.
There is a lot to admire in the performance of Gill Montgomery on the lead vocals and guitar duties – but all the way through the album the focus keeps going back to the unwavering bass and drums of the Mackay sisters which are just unstoppable.
There is an early Motorhead feel to the riff in Coming Up The Middle – more in the Fast Eddie feel of the guitars and the off-key melody, while High On Your Energy delivers another blast of high-octane riff-driven rock.
Album-closer I Want It Bad may just be in the wrong place on the record……the song has a different, more down-beat feel than most of the album, and perhaps would have been better-placed mid-record. It has a moody drum-driven beat, and atmospheric guitars and vocal harmonies for the verse and chorus alike, and same feel underpins the solo, with a false build-up that reverts to the same rhythm, albeit with some spectacular singing through the final chorus.
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TRACKLISTING:
1. Can You Feel The Fire 4:40
2. Hello And Goodbye 3:49
3. Everything I Learned I Learned From Rock And Roll 4:03
4. Born To Break 3:46
5. What Ever Gets You Through The Night 4:03
6. Hell Or High Water 4:12
7. You Still Got Rock And Roll 3:57
8. Easy Tiger 3:22
9. Bat Shit Crazy 4:00
10. Coming Up The Middle 3:41
11. High On Your Energy 3:39
12. I Want It Bad 4:24