In 2015, having spent four years in the trenches with Heaven’s Basement, Aaron Buchanan (tired of playing a corporate game that appeared to be rigged), walked out on the band and immediately formed The Cult Classics. Perfectly willing to pay the cost to be the boss, Aaron worked in a tiny London studio, dispensing with such luxuries as hot water and central heating, to create the man with stars on his knees, a reference to Russian prisoners who used just such a symbol to show that they bowed to no authority. The resulting album quickly (and deservedly) amassed so impressive a following that Aaron and his band attracted the attention of Listenable Records, who decided to reissue the album (alongside a selection of bonus tracks) and help it reach an even wider audience. A fiery, phenomenal debut, the man with stars on his knees is an aptly named, redemptive album that looks set to launch Aaron into a new and wildly creative stage in his career.
Opening with the Paradise city – meets – Audioslave stomp of Show me what you’re made of, Aaron gets things off to a blazing start with a short intro track track that has all the ingredients of greatness: intense vocal, blazing riffs and taut beat all segueing neatly into the hard-hitting All the things you’ve said and done, which makes good on the promise of the intro and delivers high-octane guitars and dense layers of vocals. With powerful production and a chorus to die for, it’s everything you want from a future rock classic and Aaron keeps the pace crackling with the Queen-Vs-The-Wildhearts stomp of dancin’ down below. It’s the sort of opening that will leave you breathless and the devil that needs you, with its atypical percussion and densely-packed vocals hardly allows respite with its early-Muse vibe. Clearly inspired by a huge range of rock artists, Aaron’s vocabulary is expansive, but his chief skill is to deliver each track with authority, inhabiting them with such charisma that the end result becomes entirely his own. Suffused with joy, journey out of here has an opening that is destined to be sung by huge audiences the world over, whilst the restrained verse allows a chance for the reeling listener to recover before the next seismic chorus kicks in. Closing out the first side, the title track is a hypnotic and gorgeous piece of music that shows Aaron’s deft grasp of dynamics, and the piece builds beautifully around a melody that will linger long in the mind after the album has spun to a halt.
Opening side two, A god is no friend sees a hitherto unexplored bluesy edge develop on a slower, more contemplative track that sits, wreathed in reverb just waiting for the opportunity to explode. An album highlight, the chunky left me for dead has a Soundgarden vibe, the astringent guitars backing the sort of bravura vocal performance that has made Aaron such a vital force. Similarly, the eastern stylings of Mind of a mute provide the briefest of interludes with another crushing riff just waiting in the wings. The album proper ends with Morals, a tense, dynamic closer which recalls Muse with its piano and grandstanding vocal work, and it brings the whole thing nicely to a head. The album also features two studio recordings not on the original record, the first of which, fire in the fields of mayhem is a staccato, punky track that bears little resemblance to the pieces that made the final album. It’s the sort of track that would make a fine B side, and it’s an equally fine bonus here, but it’s clear that Aaron and the band evolved quickly. The second bonus track, undertow, is closer in spirit to the album, although it lacks the powerful production and comes to a somewhat abrupt end. In short, the bonus tracks, whilst interesting curios, are far from essential. The ten tracks that the album comprises, however, most certainly are.
The Man with stars on his knees is pretty much everything you could want from a modern rock album. Literate in rock’s heritage, yet able to go beyond the familiar; well-played and powerfully-produced, it shows Aaron’s skill both as a vocalist and composer. The ten tracks that make up the album proper are pretty much exceptional across the board – and there are more than enough memorable choruses to keep you singing the thing until the next tour comes round. Watch this space, because Aaron and the Cult Classics are only just getting started. 9
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