I saw this band a few days ago, supporting Pavlov's Dog in The Hague's Paard van Troje. When I walked in the club, 10' after doors opening, they were already into their set, playing to maybe a dozen people. Despite that fact they played with gusto and gave a solid performance of straight rock'n'roll: the tight power trio was only augmented by keyboards (with a little help from the headliners) for one song. What little information is available on the internet on them is mostly in German, which wasn't too helpful for me. It seems they've only released this one album (in December 2014) and have often been touring together with Pavlov's Dog since. The road obviously agrees with them, just look at the title of their album! Singer/guitarist/songwriter Matthi Birkmeyer is clearly a talented individual who knows how to pen a classic rock song. He has a good singing voice too, with that whiskey-and-tobacco tint that I always associate with Southern U.S. bands. None of that German accent (you know: like the villains in old movies) familiar from 70's Krautrockers. The music is country- and blues- based rock, with catchy choruses and solid guitarwork but without excessive soloing or unnecessary production flourishes. The opening trio of songs are among the best: "A Girl Made For Love" is a rolling boogie, "Out Of My Mind" melodic folk rock and "Road To Hell" a relentless hard rocker. "What If You Were A Cowboy" is a country ballad with vocals that reminded me of Axl Rose while on "Set Me Free" and "See Your Face Again" they take a more relaxed approach to the genre. "Take Your Chance" and "Welcome To My Life" are more riff-based hard rock, and album closer "Playing God" a nice mid tempo country rocker. In conclusion, the band has a bunch of catchy songs that keep reminding you of something (from The Black Crowes to The Hellacopters and from Bad Company to Guns N' Roses) without ever sounding like mere copies. Neither are they particularily original, but one thing's for sure: either live or on the (car) stereo, their music is good fun. Don't pass them by.
**** for A Girl Made For Love, Out Of My Mind
*** for Road To Hell, Set Me Free, Take Your Chance, What If You Were A Cowboy, Welcome To My Life, What A Day, See Your Face Again, Playing God
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