Le Reno Amps – Appetite

you’ll either love it or hate it, it’s that good

you’ll either love it or hate it, it’s that good

 

www.lerenoamps.com

Holy shit, they’ve done it again!

We haven’t heard anything from Le Reno Amps for a couple of years and when that happens you tend to fear the worst for bands that never really sold the amount of records they probably deserve to. Still, Le Reno Amps obviously don’t care about financial activities. No, they’re too busy crafting the kind of throbbing, bristling, exciting, aggressive guitar-pop you search the digital airwaves for every day when you’re looking for something half decent to listen to and normally fail to find. I tell you, one listen to Appetite and you’ll be in the mood to head down to the local and throw a bunch of cocktails and alco-pops down your neck. This is an absolute gem.

This is an unashamedly entertaining album. It kicks off with two absolute belters, This One’s Not Waiting and Bad Blood, but they just don’t prepare you in the slightest for the utterly bonkers and absolutely delightful Never be Alone. The arrangement is one of the most playful, outrageous and almost non-sensical mixtures I’ve heard all year and it is an absolute joy. It’s the kind of tune that Tom Waits has been growling his way through for the past decade and you’ll either love it or hate it, it’s that good.

Whether  they’re pounding out some powerful guitar pop (Saturation Day, I’m Alive) or settling back into the Americana fused material that fans may remember from their early material, (Sinners,Weight -I Don’t Give Up On A Friend, You Must Remember ) it’s clear that Le Reno Amps have really upped their game for this record. Their songs are tougher, stronger and much more powerful now. They seem to bristle and throb with excitement and energy. They always were a cracking band but they’re starting to come up with something pretty special now. Check out the synth led Cottonmouth Rock, which is the kind of song that many bands would simply be unable to pull off. It’s a real hotch potch of styles, switching from its synth led beginnings into a heavy, stoner rock style riff fest via some thumping drums and a playful tempo. I tell you, I haven’t heard a better British rock song in donkey’s years. Bravo! And how Stuck In Your Throat covers so much ground in only three minutes and forty three seconds is beyond me!

Appetite is that wonderful, rare beast of an album that catches the sound of a band beginning to fulfill their potential. It stands head and shoulders above their previous works (which weren’t half bad themselves). It’s still a hell of a lot of fun but it’s got a real bite to it. Hell, let’s face it, it’s a bloody fine piece of work and one that your ears deserve to make friends with.

Powerful, relentless and bristling with energy from start to finish, Appetite is the sound of a band getting ready for the fight of their lives. You better come prepared or they could easily floor you. Le Reno Amps are heavyweights now.

I demand you pay attention.