Listening to the title track of this, Stonetrip‘s debut full-length – especially the instrumental mid section slowhanded, bluesy soloing that rounds out the track – you might be forgiven for believing you’d stumbled across an as-yet-unreleased track by Aussie rock God Ian Moss, such is the clarity of production and smooth, easy-on-the-ear precision of the delivery.
But it’s not – it’s classy new music from a band you simply have to hear if straight-from-the-source Aussie pub rock is something that gets your motor running. Stonetrip arrive here on this debut as a fully-realised, completely formed proposition; Run Free is a work that draws deeply from the band’s combined experience and, nostalgic flashbacks aside, gives a sumptuous and very relevant treat to anyone with ears to hear.
Reasons to feel good are few and far between these days, and so songs like the cocksure Leave A Light On, with their ability to bring a smile to the dial and uncontrollable twitching in the nether regions, should be treasured a welcomed as such. If you’re of a certain age – hell, even if you are the offspring of someone of a certain age – this is music you’ll clutch to your breast like a dear old toy as soon as you hear it. And that, by Sentinel Daily’s judgement, is something very much worth celebrating.
Mark Ritchie has a comfortable, lived in voice, the sort that has undoubtedly matured with age; He’s a clever singer, confident in his own skin and ability, a vocalist who never over sings but gives a beautifully controlled performance throughout, even adding value to more prosaic material like I Am Tomorrow. Similarly guitarists Mick Malusa and Jason King keep things taut and energised without ever resorting to pointless bludgeon or, indeed, needless extravagance. Their playing serves every song perfectly, and when they lock in with rhythm section Con Batz (drums) and bassist Sebastian Barahona they provide a formidable backdrop for Ritchie to front.
But for all the musical dexterity on show, it’s the songwriting that’s the key to Run Free’s success; At thirteen songs in length, the danger might be that the album collapses under it’s own weight; however every song keeps things tight, economical and energised, meaning that you’ll never get the chance to get bored. These guys clearly know what they are at when it comes to making a very listenable record.
Great stuff then and, if this isn’t for those of our readers at the heavier end of the Sentinel Daily spectrum, for every one else there’s an awful lot to enjoy.
Run Free releases on March 10th.
Leave A Comment