The new kings of rock and roll...
The London retro scene may well have been flooded in recent years, with many bands suggesting that they can recycle better than hyperactive hippy on speed. Raising Sand not only seem to appreciate the music that they are trying to emulate, but you can almost believe that they were the forerunners of this ballsy, blues-laced dirty rock and roll. Sit up folks, you are about to witness something special...
Guilford four piece Raising Sand come blasting out with the first track on this four-track EP, 'Unexpected Legacy', with all guns blazing. Graham Bartram delivers chunky guitars that rip riffs like a lion tearing meat from an antelopes bones - and sirens ring out to warn you that something is indeed about to happen. The band sound a little like something those Aussie wannabes Jet would love to, and you could be mistaken for thinking that someone has slipped a Led Zeppelin CD into your music maker.
The harmonica fires out notes as thick as the guitars on 'Dogtown Blues', and there are flashes of Aerosmith here, although it must be mentioned that Vinny Foreman's vocals are slightly deeper than Messers Tyler or Plant, giving a more radio-friendly sound. Things remain hard and fast for the brilliant 'Fake', and any of these three could be a single, really. Liam Ashmore pounds the bass like his life depends on it, and the drumming of Greg Bartram is relentless.
Last song 'Witness The Storm' is a slow rock classic that starts with acoustic strumming and builds into a complicated chugging beast of a song, which is a cross between blues and roll and stoner rock.
'Riding The Blinds' is more than essential listening - it's a matter of life and death. So whilst the hoodie-wearing hoodlums are falling over themselves to waste their stolen money on singles that revolve around an animated frog and a rehashed eighties movie theme tune, hit these philistines upside their head until they are sufficiently musically educated!
All hail Raising Sand...