GUITAR GANGSTERS have been around for more than 30 years.
More than 30 years of band history and many completed tours in almost as many countries around the world.
A wealth of experience that the band members possess. From the first album, which was released in 1989, to the most recent album titled “Fortune Favours the Brave”.
The album released today features thirteen songs in a recording that perfectly suits the music. Not overly produced, not too low, but just right for the sound of the London band.
No wonder, as it was not just anyone behind the controls, but Daniel Rey, who has also produced the Ramones. So it’s no surprise that here and there a tiny bit of the sound of the legendary, genre-defining band from New York comes through the speakers.
This already indicates what the discerning listener can expect here. There is old-school punk rock, but overall more The Clash than Ramones. One could also say the band plays Kick Ass Rock of the old school, though I’m not sure if this music style ever had an old school.
Rather, it’s a calmer Swedish punk of the old school, which meets an equally old-school UK punk for detention in the classroom. It’s a sound that will likely appeal more to the older generation of punk rockers. There are quite a few fans of that.
They have mostly been around for many years, and both have aged gracefully. The band from England and its fans.
To say the band has aged more than it actually has is not accurate. It’s a lot of fun to listen to the songs, and indeed my thoughts drift back to the wonderful club concerts where the band really brought the heat. It feels like it was in another life.
The over 40 minutes of playtime are varied yet familiar. Beautiful melodies, punk rock every second, lovely mid-tempo songs, and well-produced.
The Londoners are not reinventing themselves, but they don’t need to anymore. Either you like them or you don’t. No one here needs to please anyone. The band was never about that. So why start now?
GUITAR GANGSTERS show with this album that you can play punk rock with dignity and grow old.
More than 30 years of band history is something that someone else will have to match, and the energy the band has is not something everyone has at that age.
