Rival Sons – Pressure and Time (CD)

Rival Sons, play blues-infused rock, but added to the mix are touch’s of Motown, soul and a heap load of Californian swagger.
This 2nd full length outing for the band, (The first being Before The Fire, was self-released last year to a very strong response, as was the Self-titled EP released a little later.) kicks off in fine style, the opening track “All over the road” is a blues based stomp, as is the 2nd, sounding a lot like early Rolling stones inspired British blues rock, maximum R”in”B, infact the whole album pays homage to that great era, played with a modern twist. Think of this band as an updated Black Crows and you cant go far wrong.
When the 3rd song kicks in, the title song, “Pressure and Time”, the group have hit their stride, high soaring vocals, counter melodies and a simple guitar hook drive this song along.
The centre of attention of most bands is the vocalist and in Jay Buchanan, the band have found their Chris Robinson, yes ! his voice is that good, but dig deeper and the music shines through, encompassing these songs like a warm blanket on a cold night.
The slow songs are sung soulfully, as only a great singer can sing them, and this is evident in “Only One”, this is a proper blues, soul, masterpiece. The vocals dominate this song effortlessly, then its straight back into rocking mode for “Get Mine”.
I love the next track “Burn Down Los Angeles”, its got a great catchy sing-a-long chorus, if you think these boys cant rock, then listen to “Gypsy Heart”, it features some wicked guitar work from Scott Holiday. In-fact I had to listen to this cd twice to hear just how good the rest of the band are, you get so carried away with the songs, that you forget about them, Joining Jay and Scott are, Robin Everhart on Bass and Michael Miley on Drums, this band are great songwriters, and its shows on Pressure and Time.
Ive listened to this cd four times now, one after the other, and ive not done that in quite a while.
Classic Rock magazine voted this band as a one to watch in 2011, I think they are better than that.
My Verdict, 9.5/10
The band have just been announced as opening act on the Judas Priest/Queensryche
uk tour, which I think is a big mistake, as I dont feel the Judas Priest fans will give them the time of day, which will be a shame, as they deserve to be heard. They are also making an appearance at this years Sonisphere.

RIVAL SONS
May 21 – Gulf Shores, AL – Hangout Music Fest
June 24 – Bilbao, Spain – Azkena Rock Festival
June 26 – Imola, Italy – Sonisphere Festival
July 02 – Werchter, Belgium – Rock Werchter Festival
July 03 – Arras, France – Main Square Festival
July 05 – Oslo, Norway – John Dee
July 06 – Kalskoga, Sweden – Putte Parken Festival
July 08 – Weert, Netherlands – Bospop Festival
July 09 – Knebworth, UK – Sonisphere Festival

RIVAL SONS w/ JUDAS PRIEST, QUEENSRYCHE
July 15 – Newport, UK – Newport Centre
July 16 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
July 17 – Doncaster, UK – The Dome
July 19 – Glasgow, UK – SECC
July 20 – Newcastle, UK – Metro Arena
July 21 – Wolverhampton, UK – Civic Hall
July 23 – London, UK – High Voltage Festival
July 24 – Bournemouth, UK – BIC

Get more RIVAL SONS news and info at:

Official website is HERE.
Facebook is HERE.
MySpace is HERE.
Twitter is HERE.
‘Pressure and Time’ is the first single from RIVAL SONS’ forthcoming new album, PRESSURE & TIME, which is due to be released on June 20th in Europe and July 26th in North America.
The album is available to pre-order now from the Earache Webstore on CD and limited edition audiophile vinyl LP with a free, exclusive A2 poster.
European fans can also pre-order the album now from Play.com with a free limited edition band photo signed by the members of RIVAL SONS themselves.
Watch the trailer for the album here [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaVvmj-dBCY[/youtube]

About David Farrell

General Manager and 'THE' competition guy at planetmosh.com. Manager of The Goddanm Electric www.thegde.co.uk, Tour manager for Serpentine, and ex-general Dogsbody at Hammerfest.co.uk. Media partner to numerous bands. Also takes photos, writes reviews and likes classic rock, with a touch of thrash to get the blood flowing.