Reviews roundup – Alex Tjoland Band vs. The Gran’ Dukes vs. The Genders vs. Dirty Sound Magnet

Reviews roundup – Alex Tjoland Band vs. The Gran’ Dukes vs. The Genders vs. Dirty Sound Magnet

ALEX TJOLAND BAND
Silent Revelry
CD Baby

It’s Chhhhhhhrrrrrrriiiiiiisssstttmmmaaas!!!!!!! And here comes the Alex Tjoland Band with yer actual Christmas record. Except there are no Jingle Bells here, because this is set of brand new festive tunes. Ish. Let guitarist Bo Sammons explain. “My church wanted a song that incorporated as many names of God as we could. That’s where ‘God In Us, Emmanuel’ came from. I also wanted to try and write new Christmas music because it doesn’t seem like there is any out there. ‘An Angel Said To Mary’ is the Christmas story, and I guess I was thinking about the Linus soliloquy in ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ when I wrote it. Of course, I hope that some of the music means something to people, and they pull it out at Christmas and remember to slow down and hug their loved ones and enjoy the season.”

So, now you know. Musically, it’s alt-country slash Americana, so there isn’t a great deal of rocking around the Christmas tree. However they really seem to mean what they’re saying, and when they stumble across a good chorus it’s all very engaging. They open with their version of ‘Silent Night’, so at least you’ve got something to cling on to, but once you’re there, it’s very enjoyable. They’re still young fellas (and lassies) me lad, and there is something about them you just want to coddle.

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THE GRAN’ DUKES
Crown Jewels
The Gran’ Dukes

Luxembourg! They don’t rock in Luxembourg. Or if they do, they keep it a secret. But here come The Gran’ Dukes, a band of veterans, made up of two South Africans and four Luxembourgians with their own take on vintage hard rock. Seems as though some of them spent time in a band called Cold Feet and the others from a popular covers band called Fade To Grey, but here they are with their own tunes.

It’s very seventies hard rock, which is fine by me, with hints of Queen, ELO, some boogie and some pop thrown into the mix, and it’s all very enjoyable. They can rock hard as they do on ‘Hallelujah’, they go a bot Status Quo on ‘Living At The Edge Of Time’ and a bit ELO on ‘So You Just Walked Away’.

They’re not breaking new ground, but for a bunch of old fellas, they’ve done a bang up job.

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THE GENDERS
Guts And Heartstrings
The Genders

It’s the United Nations this time around, as we head of to Israel to meet Tel Aviv based band The Genders. This is their third album since forming in 2004, following on from “Rockin’ In Ramallah” and “Virgin No.72”, and apparently have placed some tunes on US cable shows I’ve have neither seem nor heard of. But that’s how you get on these sdays, so fair play to them.

So, what do they do. Well, seventies based, blues tinged rock. Think Aerosmith after Brad Whitford left, but while Joe Perry was still there. Which is a good place to be as they get their rock on with songs like ‘Black Summer’, ‘Knee High Boots’ and ‘No Guts No Glory’. They can also do a mean power ballad as they show on ‘Rock Bottom’, and even they tried and tested song titles seem right.

They get a bit glam metal in places, and they’re less good at that, but as someone who still has his early eighties Hanoi Rocks Fan Club membership card filed away “just in case”, I’m not going to complain too much. Eighties rockers in need of a new fix should check this out.

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DIRTY SOUND MAGNET
What Lies Behind
Les Editions De La Grande Berthe

Back to Mittel-Europe for a final sally, and it’s off to Switzerland to catch up with Dirty Sound Magnet. And they’re also mining the ever rich vein of seventies guitar rock. Imagine Rival Sons with Dave ‘Treeman’ King on vocals (in his Fastway days) and you should get an inkling of where they’re at.

They seem to have their sock pocket sewn firmly in place as they rampage through a set of rifftastic tunes, which mixes up AC/DC, The Cult and others of that ilk in fine fashion. The title track and ‘Heavy Hours’ lay down their rock template, they go all sleaze rock on ‘Hotel Goomba’, and then slow things down with some blooze on ‘Mr Robert’ Just because they can.

It’s really good, you know, and mightily encouraging. I would have said that they were like long sticks poised to boom over the flaccid corpse of modern rock, but that would have been too Swiss by far. Instead, I shall instruct you to look out your bullet belt, grab a spare tennis racket and prepare yourself for hours of rocking hard. Which is as it should be. Let’s rawk!

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