‘Blood & Irony,’ a song co-written with Black Star Riders Ricky Warwick, that opens Anchor Lane’s first long-player is a song that leaves a lot of doors open. It’s laid back, built on a repetitive groove that sounds rather contemporary before the vocals lead you to a peak and the first guitar solo kicks in. It’s a sound that’s closer to Rival Sons and Foo Fighters than it is to the greats of yesteryear and it’s all rather good.
‘Fame Shame’ the first single is a nice and spiky follow up that looks at “modern society’s fascination with social media and reality television.” It’s a topic I’m sure that young kids will look back on in years to come and think “Wow that was a bit like if my parents had written songs about the rise of mobile phones.” And my apologies if I sound unimpressed there but honestly if I hear one more song on that topic. Yes we all know “while you’re watching someone else’s life on the internet your own life is passing you by.”
This is a great album though, and it’s probably one of the most consistent and impressive releases of the year. Tracks like the swaggering ‘Voodoo’ with a wonderfully soulful vocal has an opening that almost makes you think ‘Free’ before it jumps ahead 50 years then slips back again. The title track ‘Casino’ is altogether bouncier but still has that rich soulful vein and a lot of that has to do with the vocals which are exemplary here.
Deeper in it’s impossible to even find a track that doesn’t connect – I love the guitars of ‘Clocks;’ the depth of the waters on ‘Stone Cold Hearted’ and the muscular groove of ‘Dead Run’ which again features Ricky Warwick and might even be my pick of the album.
If you want an album that’s chock full of tasty tunes then you could do little better than check out these Scottish rockers as they unleash their Toby Jepson produced debut ‘Casino.’ The press release may name-check influences from Royal Blood, Nirvana, Soundgarden and The Foo Fighters, but there’s also a deeper and more resonant undercurrent here that will please plenty of old ‘Classic Rockers’ too.
https://anchorlanemusic.com
Track Listing: 1. Blood & Irony 2. Fame Shame 3. Voodoo 4. Casino 5. Clocks 6. Stone Cold Hearted 7. Shell Of Me 8. Flatline 9. Dead Run (featuring Ricky Warwick) 10. Honey
