Once upon a time, you had a thing called “rock and roll”. Happy to say, it’s still alive and well and thriving in the sounds of The Bayonets. Put together all the best elements – a little Stones, a little Ramones and a little garage thrust to make the motor go – and you have The Bayonets. Fronted by Paul McCartney’s guitarist and bassist (for the last 15 years!), Mr. Brian Ray, along with his drumming cohort, Mr. Oliver Leiber (three guesses who his father was) have been making this glorious and melodic racket for the last few years and now, their first release on Jem Records, Crash Boom Bang! will be exploding out of your headphones on May 17th. Rounding out this rollicking musical aggregate is Lucrecia Lopez Sanz and they make a glorious racket.
With the mid-’60’s garage/rave-up “Like She Does” kicking things off, you know you’re in for a swinging, good time – crisp production; upbeat and catchy and instantly memorable; “I Feel Love” is a full, organ-driven piece with a damned melodic chorus and easy to sing along with and stomp your foot in time to and “So Easy Rider” has a great, dense sound with a build up from the verses to the chorus, which makes this one of the absolute standouts. “Voodoo Doll” has some delicious slide guitars to give it a slightly sinister, swamp feel and choogles along nicely; “Vagabond Soul” which, with its horn section and gentle, opening guitar figures, harkens back to Stax, circa ’66, ’67 and features Aerosmith legend Steven Tyler (!) and is easily my personal favorite; “Whatcha Got” is another guitar twang/riff fest and picks up steam with Ms. Lopez Sanz’ vocals on the bridge and “Last Man Standing” closes out the collection back in the garage; Ms. Lopez Sanz delivers convincing emotion on the verses.
You’re left slightly breathless by the time this album concludes, which is a good thing. It’s a 100-miles-an-hour joyride. Pure, classic rock & roll joy. This band has got it right on all levels, so it wouldn’t be off the mark to say it’s time to let your musical senses be pierced by The Bayonets.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Crash Boom Bang! will be released on Friday, May 19th, 2017
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