aaamusic | On 20, Jun 2013

‘Spider’, from the album Home to Andy’s by Carousels & Limousines, brings back to rock and roll the old school classic blues sound that characterises the music of Bruce Springsteen.  The song pays homage to the bluesy American Heartland music of the 1970s and early 80s which is echoed not only in the inventive guitar playing but also in the raucous and powerful vocals of lead singer Sam Gotley.

The song opens with a catchy guitar riff which captures that distinct American blues sound accompanied by a simple drum beat and soon followed by Gotley’s rugged vocals. The verse is somewhat stripped back offering perfectly provocative rock and roll lyrics as Gotley sings ‘Climbing in between your sheets, then underneath your bed, then we crawl across the woodwork, with your red long legs’. The song then erupts into a catchy chorus of ‘Got to let your guard down’, which is chanted and echoed bringing to mind the image of a chanting crowd at a festival.  The song climaxes with a raging blues guitar solo before being stripped back down to an instrumental break. A refrain of the verse follows absent the main guitar riff which shines a new light and texture on the verse which is once again followed by the anthemic chorus and an outro bringing the song to a close.

The song overall has some great rock and roll aspects which are reflected in the sleazy blues guitar riffs and powerful vocals, however it is not exactly a revolutionary offering by the band and lacks a sense of something new. ‘Spider’, gives the band the impression of a Kings of Leon/ Bruce Springsteen, hybrid which may have something to do with the record being produced by Kings of Leon producer Richard Causon and the comparison with Kings of Leon perhaps distracts from the band’s own sound. Nonetheless it is a good song with some really great rock and roll hooks and an epic guitar solo. I firmly believe that Carousels & Limousines have great potential and will have a huge impact on the mainstream pop and rock scene.

★★★★★

Shane O Neill