To paraphrase my review of this bandβs 4 Shots EP released a while back, they come on like Bon Jovi and Aerosmith but they have more than a little in common with The Eagles, were they more credible and contemporary.
Lead singer and acoustic guitarist Angelo Tristan has a husky rasp that initially reminds you of Nicklebackβs Chad Kroeger but can also hit the high notes, with melodic precision. Todd Wingerβs an apt name for a guy whose guitar playing can soar, and rhythm section of Jack Bentley Smith Ben Atkinson keep it tight but loose. Somebodyβs also playing keyboards on a number of the tracks, theyβre not in your face, but give added warmth when theyβre there.
I had an immediate crush on that EP. This here long player has taken a while longer to get into. Iβm not so sure why. Maybe the lengthier recording session time subtly altered the sound I was attracted to. Possibly you can have too much of a good thing. Itβs not that the new songs arenβt as good, just took time getting used to.
Launching with βMr Big Shotβ we get Extremeβs βGet The Funk Outβ with added arrangements and a 70s soft rock harmony makeover ala session hot picks like Pilot and Jigsaw. You think you shouldnβt like it but you end up doing so.
βPromise Landβ is an understated mid-paced broad chorded rocker you can shout along merrily to. Whether itβs about sex, success, the good old USA of A or God Iβm unclear, but I donβt think that really matters. What canβt be ignored is the lovely tumbling rumbly bass line that runs throughout βMerry Go Roundβ – A laid back classic British AOR Β style number that, again, you can take your choice over its lyrical meaning. With βIn It For Loveβ you get what it says on the tine, a right rock and roll cowboy number with the hookiest of lyrics and a fine sweet guitar solo,
βLullabyβ by contrast is surprisingly a racy rocker with some fine changes where you are at times reminded of vintage Deep Purple or even UFO. They pour on the power like this more in a live environment, and they do put on a good show full of light and shade.
βMidnight Queenβ is more cowboy rock, its faux Americana worn like a badge of honour. Itβs a rock and pop love song where you want to dance your way all the way back to that girl who broke your heart when you were young and thought you knew better. As I similarly noted when it appeared on their EP, itβs Poco and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers having a forbidden fruits affair. The rhyming couplet harmonies are both infectious and addictive, the barroom backing talk and wolf whistles cheesy but fun, and when it rocks out hard a pleasant but brief surprise.
In need of a little respite and thoughtful introspection βGet Back To Youβ has them slowing roaming dusty roads strumming on acoustics, picking up as it moves along, evoking REO Speedwagon. Thereβs an all too brief electric guitar instrumental part,that I wouldnβt have minded hearing repeated land extemporised with later in the number but we do get a stadium swinging solo pulling in as the singalong life-on-the-road lyrical melody reaches its climax.
‘Wonβt Stop Me Dreamingβ brings us back with some pounding little rock, that while possessing a modern production that oddly echoes West Coast-fixated 70s British band Charlie in a pleasant manner. Then, it all ends, with Tristanβs self-absorbed but totally sharing βAbout This Boyβ a lazy slide intro leading to some acoustic light beat country-picking rock.
Electric and acoustic guitars weave seamlessly on commercially compact singalong rock tunes. If Collateral donβt know what theyβre doing letβs not put them on the straight and narrow because if they keep on doing what it is theyβre doing theyβre going to get themselves an impressive sized audience of committed fans.
Theyβre about to go on tour as special guests to Jared James Nichols, check them out.