An assured set of tunes.
This three-piece came out of the ashes of 90s band X-Teller and since then have already released two albums. Their experience is clear as this is an assured set of tunes.
Taking their cue from classic rock they add a bit of modern muscle here and there. They may look like you’re more likely to find them queuing up in front of you at the bar rather than rocking the masses on stage but they’re a tight unit and Stuart Curtin’s guitar is fat and satisfying, while his vocals are robust and versatile enough to cover the range of styles the band play. The title track takes an old school rock riff and Curtin apes Bruce Dickinson on this one and the song is reprised at the tail end of the record but as an acoustic Ziggy Stardust type number. There’s a myriad of influences in their music, sometimes playing it hard and heavy and at other times more light-hearted.
‘Taste Of Convenience‘ has a sleazier Slash jamming with AC/DC sound, ‘What We Do’ is how the Stereophonics would sound if they had more metal records in their collection. ‘Burn In Hell’ has a more contemporary Linkin’ Park or 30 Seconds To Mars edge. There’s plenty of melody and the hooks stick after a few listens, none more so than the catchiest song of the lot, ‘Suicide Joe’. This song rocks hard but has a hook that’ll grab you by the collar and not let go. The variety continues with ‘Whatever Happened To You’, a basic bluesy bar room number. A couple of covers are included. These are less essential but fun nevertheless. Rather unlikely, the first is the Huey Lewis and the News’ ‘The Power Of Love’ which gets a rockin’ make over which works rather well. Better certainly than the cover of Paul McCartney’s ‘Live And Let Die’ which can’t quite shake off its Guns ‘N’ Roses tribute-band feel.
Fifteen tracks is value for money and while the tracks vary in style, and to some extent quality, there’s a warm, likeable quality to their music to make Hundred Days’ ‘Mission Exodus’ worth the trip, if not into space, at least to your local music store.
Duncan Jamieson
Subscribe to this comment's feed
