There is something about “Gang War,” perhaps something in that combination of swirling electronic riff and gear-grinding guitar sound, that wailing harmonica and sheer relentlessness and intensity of the sound that is more than slightly disorientating. Listening to this cool and consummate single from The Savage Hearts makes you think that you have heard it before, something that all songs destined to be future classics have in common; it’s just that you can’t be sure, when or where or why. There is so much about it that you can’t quite put your finger on, and as it plays out you find yourself musing on whether it is a slice of underground, 60’s garage rock, something that breezed through the fringes of New Wave, a really warped take on more contemporary alternative rock., or something else entirely.
Flip the song over…do we still do that?….and you find “Speed Kills”, which takes the 50s rock ‘n’ roll format, vamps it up, ramps it up, rocks it out and shoots it full of adrenaline. It’s blues on speed, the sound of the Grease Soundtrack had it been performed by The Jim Jones Revue (who put out a great album called The Savage Heart about a decade ago, if I recall, so I might be onto something here) and a natural sonic ally of bands like the criminally overlooked and revently re-emerging The Judex.
Rock and roll clearly ain’t dead; it just needed to step away from the baggage and cliche that has been weighing it down for so long so that it could lighten the load and gather some much-needed momentum. This brace of singles is pretty impressive as energised run-ups go, so imagine what The Savage Hearts will be like when they hit cruising speed.
Hold on tight, it’s gonna be one helluva ride!
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