Rival Sons
Head Down

At first glance, they might seem like just another "vintage fashion" band, a trend initiated at the beginning of the millennium by the Jet, four scruffy guys sporting vintage outfits with ankle boots and Orange amplifiers, whose "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" alongside "Lust For Life" (which it's copied from) you have to endure every time you have the brilliant idea of going dancing in some place for "young people," cursing MTV and Trainspotting the whole duration of the mix.

The Rival Sons, despite their vintage look and even more vintage sound (Gretsh + Orange), have nothing to do with the Jet. Those who seek novelty at all costs, the original sound (what does original mean anyway?) might say they play rehashed stuff; those who strictly adhere to the dictates of classic hard rock, clinging to every note, would say they're too dirty and rough; others that they're imitators of Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, etc. I say that their music is certainly not avant-garde, but it is played in a fresh and authentic manner because they have chewed, ruminated, and assimilated the '60s/'70s rock and cannot play otherwise.

Their third release "Head Down" is the proof: compared to previous works that could more easily be assimilated to a Zeppelin-inspired hard & blues, this latest work goes beyond, offering suggestions that range from the psychedelia of "Manifest Destiny pt.1" and "Until the Sun Comes" to the folk of "Nava" and "True," from the R'n'B of "All the Way," to the hard & blues of all the rest, naturally. The performances of the four musicians are also of high levels, direct and without frills, when needed to get you moving, but also capable of reaching high peaks of lyricism (just listen to the aforementioned "True," worthy of the most inspired Jeff Buckley).