Lord Sonny the Unifier is an alt rock group from Brooklyn, and self-described as “70’s Bowie & Lemmy meets a 21st Century Motorcycle Club,” Lord Sonny or band leader Gregory Jiritano certainly has the look of a forgotten member of Motörhead. Delayed after Jiritano’s recording studio was lost in a fire in 2015, their new release FINAL NOTICE! is finally out, but for an album about rebellion in the face of adversity, the delay seems strangely fitting. The mix of hard rock, glam, psychedelica, and synthesizers seems at first an odd one, but it’s a combination that makes Lord Sonny a sort of loveable, magnified cartoon version of his biggest influences.
Predominately, the record consists of slow grooving “All The Young Dudes” style guitar rock like “The All New Knownothings,” and one wishes that maybe there was a little more variety in tempo. Nevertheless, the band is capable of some great glammed out rockers like the opener “Right In Your I,” and some of their most interesting tracks are the diversions such as the psychedelic, hazy ballad “Satellite Eye” or “The Starman” which is ostensibly a fitting and impassioned tribute to the titular Bowie and his passing. FINAL NOTICE! isn’t revolutionary although it calls for revolution, but it’s a perfect listen for any fan of classic ’70s glam rock with a modern twist.
