aaamusic | On 06, Dec 2013

‘Generation Next’ is a powerful punk rock opener to Pink Cigar’s album We’re Gonna Get You Out of Here. The brief vocal introduction by singer Sharkie Cottrell immediately bring to mind the raw and gravely vocals of Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister and Audioslave’s Chris Cornell. The song is heavily influenced by iconic punk bands of the 70s and 80s including Iggy Pop and the Stooges, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. The opener is a hard-hitting punk anthem complete with a rip-roaring guitar solo led by Edd White which sets the high energy atmosphere for the rest of the album. The atmosphere cleverly shifts for a brief moment and picks up for one last chorus of ‘Generation Next’.

‘Lady Killer’ picks up with a more blues influenced sound with punk undertones evident throughout. The high energy remains and the music persists led by bluesy riffs on the guitar and bass with Cottrell’s vocals remaining equally coarse on this track with a percussion solo which allows drummer Sid Mayall’s skills to shine through. ‘This Girl’, takes a brief moment to take the energy down with a smooth, finger picked acoustic opening. Lyrically the song is narrates a series of events involving ‘this girl’, ‘I made this girl fall in love with me, it’s something I’m not supposed to be’, but ultimately reveals that the girl was in control of the relationship the entire time, evoking typical rock and roll themes. ‘Strange’ opens with a bluesy guitar riff and we see a softer side to Cottrell’s vocals which is reminiscent of smooth vocals of Tom Waits and Mark Lanegan. The bass line of Sam Rutland is equally smooth and supports the guitar and vocals most effectively. The slow tempo is maintained throughout with outbursts of energy in the chorus and the bridge. There are numerous production effects added to the song which add to the bluesy atmosphere such as the sound of a match being but out at ‘my brain’s been fried’ as well as the introduction of a Harmonica.

The energy picks up in ‘Pork Pie’ with the thunderous drum rolls, and punctuating guitar and bass. It is a lively track that keeps the heart racing which erupts with a winding contorted guitar solo before the final verse. ‘Skin of your Teeth’ makes beautiful use of the high hats in the opening in a typical blues manner and builds to percussive guitar riff and brilliantly crafted guitar rhythms. There are numerous textures evident throughout and the song is overall very cleverly crafted. ‘Tommy’ begins with a soothing laid back guitar intro that constantly builds to an explosive close as ‘London Town Blues’, hits hard with an old school rockabilly blues sound of the 60’s. ‘Dreaming of Love’, gives the impression of a stripped back love song but in keeping with what has gone before it soon develops into a trashy energetic blues track. ‘Get you in the Dark’ and ‘King of the World’, contain some incredibly alluring guitar riffs, and the album closes with a gut wrenching guitar solo in a true Pink Cigar fashion, keeping the energy moving right to end of the album.

★★★★★

Shane O Neill