Swedish artist Son of Stone bills himself as a musician dedicated to bringing back the sound of grunge. On his previous two albums that is certainly the case, but the sound he purveys on his latest showcase of songs isn't the one that came directly out of Seattle and Olympia in the early 90s. It's more akin to the sound that came in the late 90s and early 2000s, after this first wave of artists, a style that would be termed 'alternative rock'. It's the sound of those bands who were really into Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains and took the tonality of these artists down a more straight-up rock direction. I'm talking about the likes of Foo Fighters, Matchbox Twenty and The Offspring. Some of these bands originated from heavy metal backgrounds, some originated from the skate punk scene, and some came from indie rock. In many respects Son of Stone pulls all this together, but there is no subtlety, no nuance and no intricate details in his music. This is just full throttle, balls to the wall heavy rock'n'roll; and it's a hell of a lot of fun!
This album is actually a collection of songs that have already been released as singles. Part of Son of Stone's concept is to release a new song every week, an idea which is impressively modern for someone who's music is decisively retrospective. However, it does show in a number of the tracks here; a lot of these songs are short and to the point but also feel a little under-written. There is barely any let up in the constant barrage of guitars and drums, while the vocals have so much enthusiasm it's almost palpable. This energy is truly infectious, and when you combine that with tunes that are undoubtedly catchy, then you're in for an album that will leave you with a massive grin across your face.
When I Bring Things On is a massive start to the record, a perfect intro song with plenty of “here we go”, “are you ready” and “prepare to sing” lines to get everyone going. There's even a fist-pumping “hey” chant in the final section; it's simple but highly effective. Blonde To The Bone has a bit more of a California pop-punk vibe to it, while Here We Go has a more metal tone to it, particularly in the vocals which have that full on James Hetfield growl.
Silicon Valley, inspired by Son of Stone's time working in software development for Microsoft before his musical career, is a repetitive and catchy sing-a-long rocker with an incessant pace and a wonderful hook. Jackpot is probably the heaviest song on the album, with that James Hetfield growl now turning into a more evil Tom Araya style drawl. It's definitely the song where the brevity is felt the most, it's not quite fast enough to justify being only a minute and a half long. It's a shame because the tune is awesome and it sounds absolutely huge, but it just needed to be developed a little more to make it into something really great.
How I Write Songs begins with some acoustic guitar, which is a surprise until you hear the lyrics which are a tongue-in-cheek description of how to compose Son of Stone's tracks. It's fun and pretty humorous when he sings lines like “I always write on my black guitar / and sing the same line over a few bars”, or “here's a song from me again / it's optional to listen to the end”. There's an obligatory guitar solo too, because what late 90s arena-rock banger doesn't have a mildly emotive guitar solo for the guitarist to awkwardly play while the lead singer points dramatically over in their direction?!
Always 25 is another unrelenting head banging tune, and lyrically it's essentially Steel Panther's If You Really, Really Love Me re-made by Bush. It's not quite as clever as Steel Panther's take on being a middle-aged rocker stuck in their youth, but it's still pretty funny when he sings lines like “I look like 25 / drinking whiskey / that's so defined”. Give Me All You Got is pretty similar to the opening track but with a slightly heavier middle-eight, and the penultimate track One Hit Wonder Song is, unsurprisingly given the title, another tongue-in-cheek tune with a cacophony of Yeahs and Heys darting throughout.
The closing track Copenhagen isn't just an homage to the Danish capital but also to it's close connections with Sweden's Southern county of Skåne. It's the closest to true grunge that Son of Stone gets on this album, it's Lithium style verse contrasting against a big shouted chorus. Strangely this track also contains the flashiest guitar solos on the album, although I can't help but feel this is a deliberately subversive gesture on Son of Stone's part. It's definitely the most well-written song on this album, and a memorable way to finish the record.
Son of Stone's music is meant to make you smile, and if you try and take it too seriously then you probably won't enjoy it so much. On songs like Blonde To The Bone, How I Write Songs and Always 25, Son of Stone is totally unafraid to have a bit of a laugh at his own expense. There is nothing here to re-invent the wheel, but then again you also never get the feeling that this was the intention. This is entertainment, designed to make you tap your foot, bang your head, pump your fist and sing at the top of your voice. It's short and to the point throughout, and whist at times it misses some tricks that could have elevated a few of these songs, if you're looking for that kind of nuance and innovation then you're in the wrong place. If you're after a good rocking time, then you are in exactly the right place.
You can find out more about Son of Stone, along with links to all his music on his website here
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