Kris Barras Band – Welcome To Death Valley Paradise CD Review

Kris Barras has become an increasingly indispensable figure on the UK blues / rock scene thanks to a rare ability to combine compelling, emotionally charged music with a blistering stage presence that (whether electric or acoustic) inevitably grabs the attention from the get-go and holds it. Kris was one of several artists who, during lockdown, worked tirelessly to keep audiences entertained, delivering a flawless online set that set social media buzzing. Now, back with a brand-new album, Kris and his band face the happy prospect of actually being able to bring their music to the masses and, if the strength of the album is to be a determiner, the masses should be heading Kris-wards in their droves.

The album kicks off with real grit. The surging pulse of Dead Horses takes Kris’ slick sound further into hard rock territory, a gargantuan chorus emerging from a hotwired riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on a latter-day Europe album. This is huge music, with stadium-sized ambitions and a human heart, making good on the promise of Kris’ previous albums with aplomb. Adopting a more familiar blues stomp, the mid-tempo Long Gone sits somewhere between Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Eric Clapton and King King in the chain of inspiration, Kris’ ability to fire out earworms very much to the fore. You’ll be humming it for days… or, at least you would be if it wasn’t for the defiant chant of My Parade vying for pole position in that regard. An industrial-strength anthem, it’s tailor made for radio play, and yet, for all its glitz, there’s a darker core to the track that suggests Kris is not immune to the endless chatter of social media, declaring “we don’t give a fuck what people say”. A change of pace sees a lighter touch deployed on the AOR-styled These Voices – a melodic track that recalls the steel-plated pop of vintage Bon Jovi, although the instrumental passages up the ante somewhat. The first half concludes with the fast-paced Who Needs Enemies, a decent enough track, although it lacks the fire of that which precedes it.

Kicking off the second half, Devil You Know has a dirty riff, funky percussion and sporadic handclaps, all driving the listener towards a sparkling riff that sets the heart pumping. Things take a melancholy turn on Wake Me When It’s Over, Kris’ attempt to discuss the confusion and isolation of the successive lockdowns that came close to collapsing the industry he so obviously loves. In contrast, the jaunty rhythm of Hostage has a heavy pop vibe, dismissed only when Kris unleashes a blistering riff on the bridge to verse two. The heavy, heavy blues of Cigarettes And Gasoline offers cracking guitar and vocal harmonies to die for, before Bury Me takes things to a darker, more contemplative place. With the album’s end looming, it’s one last moment for Kris to commune with the listener, crafting a song that harks back to his excellent The Divine And Dirty album in the process. It leaves the aptly-titled Chaos to see things out on a heavy, heavy rock trip, Kris unleashing an elastic riff that brings Tom Morello’s tungsten grooves to mind.

Welcome To Death Valley Paradise takes all of the familiar Kris Barras Band elements and ramps them up to eleven. Where Light It Up occasionally lacked punch, Welcome To Death Valley Paradise has depth and dirt by the skipful, a situation helped all the more by a strong production job that allows gritty guitars and layered vocals alike to stand out. A committed individual, you can’t help but feel that Kris puts every part of himself into every outing, his steely determination as infectious as his effervescent melodies, and the result is an album that neatly encapsulates his band’s myriad strengths over the course of eleven strongly memorable tracks. 9/10