If you’re looking for some good time rock ‘n’ roll, then London-based five-piece At The Sun should be high on your list of bands to check out. Drawing on the rich heritage of Black Stone Cherry, AC/DC and G’n’R, At the Sun are happy to lay down the heavy riffs, but they also concentrate on the soul and melody of The Crowes, singer Harry Dale adding in a pinch of Glenn Hughes for good measure, and the result is a set of bristling hard rock tracks imbued with powerful melodies and plenty of attitude to boot.
The album gets off to a cracking start with only a fool, the band wasting no time at all delivering a huge, wah-inflected riff that sets the heart pumping so vigorously it should come with a health warning. Like Altar Bridge on steroids, it’s heavy, deeply melodic and a cracking track with which to open. Keeping things on the heavy end, Preacher is a super-charged blues with an explosive stop-start riff that’ll blow your face off. It’s followed by the dense breathe. Based around a fiery riff, the band nevertheless back off on the verse to give Harry a chance to shine, his soulful tone pitched against the taut rhythms of Craig Steen and the sanguine bass of Alex Matthews. Chet even gets a chance to unleash his inner-Slash towards the track’s conclusion, although the band keep him on a tight leash at this point, focusing on their aim to deliver tracks that hit hard and fast without meandering too far from the blueprint. A track with a clear G’nR lineage, walk on over is satisfyingly bluesy, the lyrics cheekily echoing the irrepressible ambitions of the lyrics to paradise city, astonishingly making them more lascivious in the process. Keeping the pace taut, the crunchy Lay it on me is a sure-fire live killer with a riff that starts loud and only gets louder. If you were looking for a one-stop showcase of why the band have managed to build such a name for themselves, lay it on me may well be it. Rounding out the album’s first half another bluesy number surges into view. Opening on a downbeat note, it does not take long for the irrepressible spirit of the band to kick in on lifetime and the hot-wired riff that follows the restrained opening will have fans leaping to their feet in no time.
Opening the album’s second act, the bluesy devil in your eyes is the sort of track you can imagine emerging if Black Stone Cherry were to have a crack at a Def Leppard cover. Smooth yet soulful, it throws out an insanely catchy chorus as if such things are easy to come by, and it sets the stage perfectly for bite your tongue, a pulse-quickening rocker in the vein of Velvet Revolver. With deft tempo shifts and plenty of hard riffs for guitarists Chet and Kieron to wrap their wah pedals around, it’s a hard-hitting blast from start to finish. Next up, the lengthy indestructible proves to be a slow-burner that works its way into the listener’s head with an insidious skill that can only be marvelled at. Edging into the territory occupied by Black Country Communion, indestructible is an album highlight and evidence that, although At the Sun can put the collective pedal to the metal, they are equally adept at hanging back and letting the melodies take care of themselves. Renegade kicks out the jams nicely – a smooth, soulful hard rock jam with plenty of depth and a powerful lead vocal, whilst its follow-up, soak it up, sees the album head back into Velvet Revolver territory. It’s a fine track, although it feels more in thrall of its influences than other offerings. It leaves raise your glass to bring things to a satisfyingly close, the a mid-tempo stoner vibe getting the head nodding even as the curtain begins to fall.
Clearly not looking to reinvent the wheel, At the Sun have set out their stall as an unabashed classic rock band and the results are impressive indeed. In emphasising the soulful voice of Harry Dale (arguably the band’s strongest asset), At the Sun manage to resist the temptation to simply recycle G’n’R tropes and offer a refreshingly melodic, bluesy take on hard rock that feels fresh even with so many bands currently finding themselves drawn to the genre. Combining elements of Glenn Hughes, Velvet Revolver, AC/DC and the Black Crowes, much of leave before the light has a familiar ring to it, but the band are so obviously enjoying what they’re doing that it’s quite impossible not to get swept up in their enthusiasm. A fine debut with plenty of killer cuts, leave before the light will certainly consolidate, not to mention enhance, At the Sun’s burgeoning reputation as a force with which to reckon. 8.5
Find out more at the band’s website here.
