The further we get from the screaming tube-amp heyday of the 1970s, the more one wonders about the relevance of guitar-based rock & roll. That said, sometimes you just want a guitarist to hit you in the gut with a well-timed power chord and rip out a hot lick that crackles with the heat of a vinyl LP melting on the sidewalk of a hot summer's day. That's the vibe that veritably burns off Bass Drum of Death's fifth album, Say I Won't. Produced by the Black Keys' Patrick Carney, Say I Won't is the group's first full-length to ...
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The further we get from the screaming tube-amp heyday of the 1970s, the more one wonders about the relevance of guitar-based rock & roll. That said, sometimes you just want a guitarist to hit you in the gut with a well-timed power chord and rip out a hot lick that crackles with the heat of a vinyl LP melting on the sidewalk of a hot summer's day. That's the vibe that veritably burns off Bass Drum of Death's fifth album, Say I Won't. Produced by the Black Keys' Patrick Carney, Say I Won't is the group's first full-length to feature the lineup of founding singer/guitarist John Barrett, his brother, guitarist Jim Barrett (who joined in 2020), and drummer Ian Kirkpatrick. Whether it's the bluesy synergy between the two brothers, or the band's inspired knack for crafting anthems rife with a smoky pool-hall menace, Say I Won't has a buzzy, elevated energy that grabs you from the start. Carney largely steps out of the group's way, allowing them to dig into their stripped-down sound while adding just enough acid-soaked atmospherics onto John Barrett's throaty sneer to lend a woozy, car stereo atmosphere to their straight-to-tape aesthetic. This is thudding, sinewy rock where you can feel the band's natural groove and sense their individual amps bleeding into each other. Hypnotic moments pop up all over, as on the serpentine death rocker "Head Change" with its hip-swaggering main riff and the chugga-chugga MC5-style hooks of "No Soul." With Say I Won't, Bass Drum of Death evoke the sweaty album rock of the '70s, infusing it with an undeniably raw and sultry immediacy all their own. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi
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