aaamusic | On 29, Apr 2012

Guile’s debut album Alone on the West is a rebellious mix of garage and psychedelia worthy of the most well-deserved Black Rebel Motorcycle Club comparison ever. They share a certain dialogue between sacred and profane, sin and pride. Reprobate Lover is a strong statement track, oozing both attitude and spiritual power at the same time. The impressive wall of sound it creates resonates throughout the record. Somewhere, Sometime, Someone is a fantastic piece of songwriting, with a powerful warm guitar leading the honest, raw lyrics delivered through frontman Neal Sawyer’s deep and intense vocals. I Walk Alone deals with salvation in a desert-hot surrounding beautifully created by a woozy, aching guitar strumming. Love Around Here is one of the highlights, sounding like a dark, dense trip through a dirty conscience. This record is confident, and righfully so. This debut album is remarkable for its refined and coherent sound and its bold use of religious imagery in its lyrics . Alone on the West is the kind of record that feels like the first part of an exciting journey that you can’t wait to continue.

★★★★★

Chiara Amoretto