Review by Andy Hawes for MPM
One of the very great joys of writing for Metal Planet Music is occasions such as this when one gets sent music by a band that one has never heard of before and it turns out to be really good! Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to bring you Best Medicine, the upcoming EP by UK Rockers Revenant, featuring Sam Lay (guitar, vocals), Matthew Hudson (guitar), Robin Nutley (bass) and Carl Donoghue (drums).
On the strength of this excellent EP, Revenant can probably be best described as purveyors of straight-ahead kick-ass Rock n Roll with Southern influences. There is a delightfully ‘no-frills’ approach to their sound which is absolutely what the doctor ordered. Opening with the fabulous ‘Public Service Announcement’, the boys plug in their guitars, turn ‘em up to 10 and open fire with a gloriously uptempo slice of hard-edged Southern-styled Rock n Roll with a true rebel heart. Produced by the band themselves, it sounds absolutely glorious, with chunky, fat guitars and powerful, melodic vocals all sat atop a driving rhythm section.
Title track ‘Best Medicine’ is even better than the opener! With elements of the mighty Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot and even .38 Special lurking within their sound, these guys know their way around this Southern Rock kinda sound and this is one helluva track! The band opt to keep things simple on the arrangement front, with catchy melodies and excellent use of the two guitars – the solo is particularly fine on this one, all aching bends and classy Blues-Rock phrasing with a majestic tone. The lead and backing vocals are excellent here too, the harmonies on the chorus doing absolutely the right job in lifting what is an already brilliant hookline one step higher. I’ve not heard a Southern Rock track this good in a VERY long while!
‘Runaway Rage’ adds some swampy slide guitar into the mix, with a deliciously mid-tempo groove that just screams Alabama, Georgia and the Mississippi Delta and one can imagine this being belted out in a Southern dive bar on a sultry Mississppi Friday night, while the beers and moonshine flow in equal measure. Really fabulous stuff!
Revenant mellow thigs out just a tad with the emotive ‘Least I Can Do’ which reminds me a little of the sort of thing Blackberry Smoke do when they are feeling all melancholy. The guitars jangle and twang rather than roar on this track and that’s absolutely bang on the right approach, as the slightly more laid-back vibe that this gives the track is really cool. There’s a slight Country-Rock feel going on here too and that’s absolutely fine by me. The instrumental break is very fine on this one too and once again, the vocal arrangement is excellent with strategically placed harmony vocals giving everything just a hint of polish. Absolutely superb track!
The EP closes with ‘Miss You’ which opens with delicately strummed acoustic guitar and a plaintive, emotive vocal. Sparse, melancholy without being depressing, and, at the same time having an inherent positivity, ‘Miss You’ is a delightful little ballad which showcases both the quality of the songwriting and the quality of Sam Lay’s vocal which is left exposed by the sparseness of the arrangement yet shines within it quite beautifully.
This is an absolutely excellent EP from start to finish! The songwriting is fabulous, the production is bang on the money (extra marks for the fact that it’s done so well by the band themselves!) and the band really have nailed that Southern Rock sound. They sound extremely authentic and that’s a real compliment, as it’s not the easiest of sounds to get right. This EP deserves to sell bucketloads – yes, it really is THAT good! If you’re a fan of this kind of thing, you should snap it up as soon as it’s released on 11th April.
This is a band I look forward to hearing a LOT more from! Absolutely superb job, boys!
‘BEST MEDICINE’ THE NEW EP APRIL 11 PRE- ORDER CD/BUNDLE NOW
TRACK LISTING
Public Service Announcement
Best Medicine
Runaway Rage
Least I Can Do
Miss You
SOCIAL MEDIA
