The Killers – Imploding the Mirage
ALMOST 20 years since their formation in Las Vegas, the rock superstars return for their uplifting sixth studio album. It's been a long time coming, with the album's initial release on May 29 pushed back by the coronavirus pandemic.
For fans, the wait may have been anxious given this is The Killers' first collection without lead guitarist Dave Keuning, who took a break in 2017. They needn't be concerned though; from the synthesiser to the distinguished Brandon Flowers vocals, this is still unmistakably The Killers.
Your dose of rousing rock is still here, accompanied by a pleasingly retro feel. From the opener, My Own Soul's Warning, to the album's title track, there is a sense of moving forward at pace, which for 2020 is surely the perfect direction.
Dance with it, take a drive with it and get on with it.
4stars
Edward Dracott
The Lemon Twigs – Songs for The General Public
WITH Songs For The General Public, The Lemon Twigs do for 1970s rock what San Francisco's Foxygen have done for 1960s psychedelic rock.
And they have produced a tribute dazzling in its panache. Album opener Hell On Wheels is an irresistible slice of glam rock, sweeping aside any comparisons to their more parodic brethren The Darkness. Leather Together is the right level of sleaze and suggestiveness for a listener to picture Alice Cooper belting it out in full regalia.
Somebody Loving You is the first track to do something interesting and different with the glam formula, keeping the rich vocal harmonies but moving through some strange and evocative chord sequences.
Listeners have to wait for the eighth track, Only A Fool, to sample an even more daring, if not outright off the wall, take on the formula, but it's well worth it.
There are sonic surprises with every track, right up until the final glorious squeals of feedback.
4stars
Rachel Farrow
La Witch – Play With Fire
GARAGE punk trio LA Witch, who are less goth than their name might suggest, sound on their second album both instantly familiar and entirely fresh.
First track Fire Starter is an urgent call to arms, guitarist/vocalist Sade Sanchez singing "I've got too much to do and not enough time". Motorcycle Boy starts with an engine being revved up before Sanchez sings a love song inspired by classic Hollywood outlaws as bassist Irita Pai and drummer Ellie English race to the finishing line.
First single I Wanna Lose is a classic punk celebration of burning everything down and starting again, while Gen-Z is about being a slave to technology and social media.
LA Witch also know how to slow it down, adding keyboards and psychedelic guitar on Dark Horse and backward slide guitar on woozy country ballad Maybe The Weather.
Written after years on the road, the nine songs on Play With Fire will cast a powerful spell if you let them.
3stars
Matthew George
Robby Krieger – The Ritual Begins at Sundown
A DECADE on from Doors guitarist Robby Krieger's last solo album, The Ritual Begins At Sundown fails to break new ground but is bound to please enduring fans of The Door's jazz roots.
The guitarist was 18 when he joined the 1960s psychedelic rock band and his post-Doors career has largely consisted of stints working with former bandmates Ray Manzarek and John Densmore while diving deeper into jazz.
Here, Krieger joins with writing partner and co-producer Arthur Barrow once more. Barrow worked with Frank Zappa and some of Zappa's old band are present on trombone, trumpet and keys. But the album displays none of the psychedelic vibes its title suggests: instead, it's a trip through jazz taking in country rock, pop flavours and stripped-back blues.
Chunga's Revenge breaks beyond free-form exploration to develop a chugging rhythm around which Krieger's guitar bends and there's also a yacht rock-inspired cover of The Doors' Yes, The River Knows
However, Krieger fails to create any sort of overarching narrative, leaving The Ritual Begins At Sundown feeling listless at best.
2stars
Alex Green
