Argentino-Finnish five piece The Flaming Sideburns are, in my not so humble opinion, one of heavy rock n’roll’s greatest undiscovered gems. There are several – and I’m not going to give them the oxygen of recognition here – bands currently doing the rounds in this genre who receive far greater plaudits that aren’t fit to string one of The Punisher‘s telegraph-wire thick bass strings… but thems the breaks, I guess.

This is a comeback album of sorts, being the first thing the band has released since 2007, but really they’ve never gone away in the hearts of long term fans, who will greet this new album merely as an overdue extension of a proud legacy rather than any sort of second coming.

If you’ve never heard of the band – firstly, why not? – but, more importantly, welcome! the ‘Sideburns are in great form throughout, and this is as good a place to start as any, so dive in! Although names like The Sonics and The Stooges are obvious reference point given the ragged glory of tracks like opener Silver Flame, there’s a whole lot more to enjoy about this severely underrated band. Like Cheap Trick? give the heartfelt tribute to fallen brother Robert Dahlqvist of the Hellacopters (who sadly quit this mortal coil in 20170 Song For Robert a spin. Alex Chilton more your thing? these guys have got you covered too, in the shape of the rattling feelgood rifferama of Soulshaking, and if this is all a bit too rockin’ for your old ears, then you might like to try the woozy, Ashcroft-infused Reverberation (Doubt).

I guess what I’m trying to say, in a roundabout way, is that there’s nothing in the field of low-slung rock n’roll stylings that these guys ain’t got covered. Theirs is a sound that’s well worn, for sure – although I’d prefer to call it gloriously timeless – but by God they dust it down and spruce it up in every way imaginable on Silver Flames.

If you can stay still whilst listening to the absolutely riotous Searching Like A Hyena – which is going to be my air guitar anthem of the summer thanks to the filthy good work of Jukka Suksi and Arimatti Jutila – I seriously fear for your very soul, and if you don’t find yourself in front of a mirror pretending to be Eduardo Martinez during the epic Freak Out there’s a fair chance you may already be dead. However, don’t worry – there’s a fair chance repeated listens to Silver Flames could reanimate your sorry carcass, so all is not lost – get involved and get hip to the sound of The Flaming Sideburns as soon as is feasibly possible – your very existence may depend on it!

Silver Flames releases on April 23rd.