“Are you ready to rock? Do you want a good time? Do you want to get high? If the answer to any of those questions is yes (and it really should be), then the undisputed kings of balls-out rock’n’roll are back to provide maximum satisfaction. An elite, three-man squad, dedicated to the noble art of riffs, melodies and life-affirming rock anthems, DANKO JONES are ready to serve up all the Electric Sounds you could possibly need.” … or so reads the press release and if you have been in the know about these guys for the last best part of two decades then you will know how true that all is.
For the uninitiated imagine a band so wound up and so Rock and Roll they just explode into your ears from the off and never let up! This is high octane rock and roll, superbly crafted, catchy as hell and completely unpretentious. If that sounds like you then dive right in! Indeed if you’ve checked out the stunning run of albums since 2015’s ‘Fire Music’ – namely ‘Wild Cat’, ‘A Rock Supreme’, and ‘Power Trio’ you’ll know that regular as clockwork every two years we will get to hear another quality collection of songs. The consistency is really quite remarkable and its a caliber of music that exceeds the quality that many above them in the Rock and Roll tree manage far less frequently. 2023 and ‘Electric Sounds’ shows that the hot streak is far from over and the well is far from dry!
“Not working for two years really felt like touring rock bands were being put out to pasture,” recalls Danko. “But I guess that only made us try harder. We were still able to record and release an album during the pandemic (Power Trio, 2021). We toured as soon as we were allowed. Now that Electric Sounds is getting released, it doesn’t feel like we missed a beat. During the pandemic, we moved away from each other. JC lives in Finland and Rich lives in Prince Edward Island. So the writing for this band has changed. We used to bash out ideas in our rehearsal place, day after day, but it’s more about sending files
back and forth now. However, last summer, while on tour, we did manage to jam out ideas in a rehearsal room in Berlin for a few days. Out of those jams came the nubs for five songs…” And over time those five became eleven.
This album is just crazy good from the off with the chest-beating mayhem and menace of ‘Guess Who’s Back’ leading the way before the strut of ‘Good Time’ and the insanely raucous title track all take complete control. It’s hard to pick a favourite when they all hit home and ‘Get High?’ is just damn good fun; and ‘Stiff Competition’, well really is with its semi-rapped strut and stagger. This is damn good stuff!
There’s diversity here though too and for every hard hitting anthem there’s also party rockers, pop punk immediacy and plenty of crunch. ‘She’s My Baby’ (which features Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies) is that dab of Punk glory, whilst ‘Eye for an Eye’ is for me does what Danko Jones do so well – rock the fuck out! It’s that kind of energy and abandon that makes music come alive! It might not be the first time you’ve heard it but it taps all those primal emotions so damn well!
“I’d like to think Electric Sounds falls in line with all our previous albums,” says Danko. “Over the years, we’ve carved out a sound and we’re sticking to it. But if you were to zoom in and compare it to other albums, I’d like to think it’s a bit faster than our other albums. Initially, I wanted all the songs to sound like our song, Cadillac – plodding, mid-tempo, heavy, and to the point. That idea got lost fairly quickly, once we started the writing process. When it comes to the lyrics and given our sound, I don’t think we have too much leeway in terms of subject matter! Our songs are usually about rocking, wanting to rock, enjoying life while rocking, and sometimes I’ll sing about a woman. You can expect zero surprises!”
That leaves us with a closing run that rivals anything you heard this century! First ‘I Like It’ bursts out of the speakers with the kind of intent that can’t be taken back and gets all groovy and stompy, before the melodic rise of ‘Let’s Make Out’ gets that foot down on the pedal and ‘What Goes Around’ cranks it up again with a late night amphetamine fury that could wake the dead. It’s great stuff!
It’s the final track ‘Shake Your City’ though that threatens to steal the show, manic, murderous and unhinged its the melting pot of the album and an anthem for mayhem! If you love the relentless energy of Rock and Roll this is the album for you.
If you’ve not already let them in, you need Danko Jones in your life!
8 /10
Danko Jones (Vocals/Guitar), John Calabrese (Bass), Rich Knox (Drums)
Tracklisting: 01 – Guess Who’s Back | 02 – Good Time | 03 – Electric Sounds | 04 – Get High? | 05 – Stiff Competition | 06 – She’s My Baby | 07 – Eye for an Eye | 08 – I Like It | 09 – Let’s Make Out | 10 – What Goes Around | 11 – Shake Your City