Take a guitar-slinging, ex-welder from Gothenburg, add in another guitarist (from Malmö), add a bass player and a drummer; mix it all with 70’s rock a la Kiss, Ash and Lizzy with a pinch of the aggression and nous of MC5 and you end up with Acid’s Trip, a true rock band with twin guitars, lovely Hammond and vocals led by the aforementioned welder billed simply as ‘Acid’ on the CD but, is actually the lovely Anna Skogö from those other Scandi rockers, Honeymoon Disease.
Debut album, Strings Of Soul, out on May 7th, has a short ‘Prelude’ of multi-tracked, organ(ic) backing to the religious feel before the title track shows exactly what they are about…rock! That’s Rock with a capital ‘R’ as the Ash sound mixed with a Heart with bite, pulls together to form a solid song of quality with nifty soloing that brings in a touch of Skynyrd; BOC gets a mention in the lyrics too.
‘The Kiss Riff’ is pure Southern rock and catchy as hell, ‘No More Fucks‘ is a highlight (musically at least) with a rapid, Stooges, punky backing over frantic riffing yet still, with the twin guitars, maintains a Southern edge, just seriously pumped up. ‘Just A Man‘ has cowbell and a great build to lovely short solos and is one of the best boogie songs this year. ‘Faster, Chopper, Boogie’ is just that: back to the punk edge but staying melodic and I can only explain it as Blondie does Skynyrd does MC5… a blend that works really well.
‘Creature of the Lagoon’ could sit happily with Moontan era Golden Earring… if Joan Jett had fronted them while ‘Get It Right’ is Faces meets Crowes; ‘If Only (I Were the Only)‘ starts off in 60s rock ’n’ roll and then picks up that punk, fun all the way edge. Wrapping up with ‘Hell or High Water‘ we get a slice of melodic, multi-layered, Heepy rock with great Cappella vocals taking us to the fade. All the songs show just how good the band are: the keys, bass and drums are welded together (sorry Acid) throughout the album and help make this a bloody good debut that bodes well for the future.
4 Stars
, add a bass player and a drummer; mix it all with 70's rock a la Kiss, Ash and Lizzy with a pinch of the aggression and nous of MC5 and you end up with Acid’s Trip, a true rock band with twin guitars, lovely Hammond and vocals led by the aforementioned welder billed simply as ‘Acid’ on the CD but, is actually the lovely Anna Skogö from those other Scandi rockers, Honeymoon Disease.){kind=link}