Remember when Rock was simpler and all we wanted was a band to get us to move, a band to get lost in, a band that was additive and genre free? Well this is Slovakia calling and they still do things like that here!
Oddly looking trough the promo the only name-checking goes to the guitarist, or as they say in the press release, ‘guitar legend‘ Vadim Bušovský who was in the band Dorian Gray, it doesn’t appear to be the same Yugoslav band I remember from the early 80’s but please correct me if I’m wrong?
Really though that’s all irrelevant as the music here is very good indeed and if you love that back-to-basics approach to your hard rocking, that is exactly what The Gang do. Opening track ‘Let It Rock’ says pretty much all you need to know if you will like these guys or not there’s a real ‘Good Times’ (by Jimmy Barnes and INXS) vibe to the song and it’s glorious basic, stripped back rock n roll with a huge groove.
I personally love it, and a huge part of the appeal of The Gang is how good the band sounds together (tight as hell) and the vocals of ‘Dory’ their female vocalist – a singer with a huge voice that fits their classic rock old-school guitar-driven and keys embellished take on rock n roll.
Dig in deep and you’ll love this from the opening bluster of ‘Let It Rock’, through the stomp of ‘get Out of My Life’ and the relentless groove of ‘Rock ‘n’ Rebels to the last notes of the acoustic-driven closer ‘Different Today.’
Along the way though there’s remarkable consistency with the ripping rock of ‘I Want More’, the emotional, slower ‘Lost Friend’ and the thrusting groove of my personal favourite ‘Wild Hurricane’ also hitting the nails right on their respective heads. Great music great attitude great performances and if that’s not enough what could be more rock and roll than not one but two members of the band sporting Top Hats!
Tracklist: 01. Let It Rock |02. Get Out of My Life | 03. Rock ‘n’ Rebels | 04. Only the Devil Knows | 05. I Want More | 06. You’re the One | 07. Real Self | 08. Lost Friend | 09. Wild Hurricane | 10. Different Today
