Electric Mob was formed in Curitiba, Brazil by Renan Zonta (vocals), Ben Hur Auwarter (guitar), Yuri Elero (bass) and André Leister (drums) – four young guys who sound on this debut like seasoned professionals of twice their age! If you love Smoky bluesy hard rock with power and precision, soulful vocals and some killer musicianship then Electric Mob’s ‘Discharge’ should be on your listening list this year, and after you’ve heard it I’m sure will be one you’ll go back to for years to come.
After a gratuitous atmospheric 32 second wail ‘Awaken’ that will clock up a streaming credit we’re down to business. ‘Devil You Know’ which really kicks things off has a great groove, great harmonies, nice hook and some great vocals. And as if to underline the confidence of the band ‘Kings Ale’ that follows starts with a banjo and ends up sounding like Badlands and subconsciously almost samples an Aerosmith lyric from ‘Sweet Emotion’ – its the little touches like that that really matter.
So two songs in I’m sold but a little wary as this really doesn’t sound like your usual Frontiers Records fare. Arguably though it gets better. ‘Got Me Runnin”’ is huge! – a riff heavy slab of 70’s Hard Rock that takes no prisoners and allows both Renan’s voice and Ben Hur’s guitars to shine. There’s the grove of Zeppelin meets Bad Company that makes this writer wonder what all the fuss was about Greta Whatshername? You want dynamics? You got them? You want indulgence? Listen to that solo. It’s world class!
I’m quite taken aback after all that, but there’s no time to rest as ‘Far Off’ cranks it up with a dirtier edge before ‘Your Ghost’ takes us to the other end of the spectrum with a show of sheer emotion some wonderful acoustic guitar and a vocal that makes you wonder if maybe wee are witnessing the first outing for one of the new greats. Indeed all of these guys need a name-check – Renan Zonta on vocals is sublime, Ben Hur Auwarter might just be one of the best new guitarists I’ve heard in years and both Yuri Elero (bass) and André Leister (drums) could hold their own with the big boys. Indeed ‘Your Ghost’ is the song that sees this unit at their very best, there’s such chemistry at play.
And if you crave a simple ‘rock out’ then sure you’ll get it, but not played with a straight bat – ‘Gypsy Touch’ adds a little groove and funk along with the power that soars past The Chillis; ‘123 BURN’ kicks in some more quirkiness and a repeated fairground motif that always makes me think of The Stranglers before we get even funkier. It’s the song you’ll either pass on or love.
Deeper still ‘Upside Down’ puts the foot to the floor and soars before ‘Higher Than Your Heels’ gets back to the Blues and groove and even adds some nice brass to the mix. Then it’s sprint time again as ‘Brand New Rope’ finds the gas again. It’s probably already one of the best debuts of the last ten years even before they close off with the loud and proud ‘We Are Wrong’ – a song that sounds made for all those lovers of Soundgarden and all that chunky rock that flexed its muscles at the start of the 90’s. It’s epic stuff that at points even makes you think or early Queen.
Electric Mob have created one helluva debut album. Hold on tight, these guys could be huge!