Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
There’s an energy at a Pearl Handled Revolver show that’s virtually impossible to describe. You feel it in your feet, you feel it in your heart and you feel it in your mind.
Overwhelming the senses, the primal blends seamlessly with the sophisticated in a heady blend that just takes over every fibre. With a string of outstanding albums behind them, ‘Tales You Lose’ is arguably their finest achievement yet and the one that comes closest to distilling that raw power into a studio setting.
Swirling explosions of psychedelic blues rock that range from a whisper to a scream fill the eight tracks here, the cool caress of a lover’s words through to the snarl of a forthcoming titan crash like waves. Epic opener ‘Black Rock’ immediately throws you into their world of dark and twisted rhythms that come in a rush, the swirling miasma of Simon Rinaldo’s keys and the punch of Andy Paris’s fretwork catching you like a fly in a spiderweb. While Lee Vernon’s vocals growl and seduce, the instant, burbling groove from drummer Chris Thatcher and Lucas Rinaldo’s bass drive everything with hypnotic grace and the blistering ‘Heart of Gold’ shows the band letting loose with some ferocious chops.
One of Pearl Handled Revolver’s greatest strengths has always been their ability to conjure atmosphere and it’s certainly not in short supply here, the glimmering chill of ‘Lightning’ and sky-scraping portent of ‘Courageous’ sitting happily next to each other, their own world’s beckoning. Bordering on Prog at times, the outfit’s sonic blend of The Doors, Captain Beefheart and Howlin Wolf blended with some homegrown grit and sensibility gives a timeless sense to the material and with the intoxicating sound of a Hammond Organ gives a delightfully retro sheen. Rinaldo Jr has proven himself to be a vital addition too, having grown up around the band it’s obviously in his DNA and his intuitive playing adds an additional layer to the sound, the bass parts covered so long by his father’s keys.
With the funky workout of ‘Space Invader’, the fractured feel and Beat Poet vocals by Vernon on ‘Hammer’ building everything up to the final push of ‘Junkies’, the album ends with a blizzard of swinging arms, flying fists and bruises for one last extended and truly epic finish. One of the most thrilling and involving albums of the year, ‘Tales You Lose’ is a modern masterpiece.
