‘Guess Who’s Back? Me, motherf*cker…’
As Danko tell us amid a bone shaking but sonically shiny riff. This is, funnily enough, ‘Guess Who’s Back’, the opener for this splendidly simple raucous Rock ride. To start the album this way is pretty audacious.
Credit; Graspop
Danko, bassist JC and new drummer Rich Knox burst from Toronto with this album and if that opener makes you think this is a return akin to a NWOBHM band who split in 1982 and have now returned, Danko Jones’ last album was a scant 2 years ago.
But with a simple AC/DC type attack like this, celebration is necessary. This is their 5th complete release and it might be their most accessible.
‘Are you ready to rock? Do you want a good time? Do you want to get high? If the answer to any of those questions is yes (and it really should be), then the undisputed kings of balls-out rock’n’roll are back to provide maximum satisfaction’
The Rockpit have it right, but Danko Jones have never really had the chart success they clearly deserved and that may be to do with the souped up Rock of their sound; it’s a balancing act, that accessibility but without losing any bite.
Danko Jones have managed it with this album. It has an economy of sound, with enough air for the riffs to resound – makes the whole thing sound huge too.
Electric Sounds
The vocals and riffing of the title track fit together promises at election time and when the rising chorus of ‘Good Time’ takes you by suprise and it builds back up to fun, things are very fine.
It doesn’t just offer that though, ‘She’s My Baby’ has nothing but a ‘we remember Punk’ race around with lairy attitude and no real danger, but that just gives you more room to enjoy it. And when ‘What Goes Around’ races…around, it’s easy to get up and go with it.
Stereophonics On Steroids?
May I introduce you to ‘Get High?’, Pop Punk chorus and all. And that cowbell making an appearance with a groovy guitar telling it to keep going and the riff marching about with real precision and no arguments.
That confidence is all over closer ‘Shake Your City’, hard and fast but with enough air to make to see it has real quality and it knows.
Should Be Huge
OK, this was released a week ago and I’ve waited to write just to see if the quality palled. Nope.
Danko Jones are a well-kept Rock secret at the moment, but they should be lauded. As a combination of Hard Rock, Punk intention and monolithic AC/DC riffs, this band should be on everyone’s Rock Raucousness Register.
For Blabbermouth the straddle is important,
‘It’s a brash, in-your-face collection of hard rock that’s somehow still fun and optimistic.’
and that straddle? The radio ready choruses and the fist in the face riffs; tough to do and carried off without a care in the world here.
I hear around 100 albums each month. Most of those are Rock, sent to me because of the magazines I write for amd I consider it a privilege. Sometimes though, the sheer volume can overface me; Rock isn’t just Rock, it’s AOR and Funk Rock and Metal and Melodic Rock and Alt and Country Rock and more. And within those sub genres there’s a huge offer of albums, as Rock is a burgeoning genre.
So when a band hit you up immediately and then make home in your pleasure centres, they should be celebrated. Danko Jones are one of those bands.
Danko are back. I never want to see them go away.