Band: Reckless Ambition
Release: The Night Is Alive (EP)
Release Date: Out Now
Reckless Ambition are simply a Surrey four-piece who are attempting to bring back a classic rock sound, influenced by bands like Guns N’ Roses and Black Stone Cherry the band actually sound pretty unique for a young outfit. Whether this sort of sound will get them far or if there will be a temptation to make their sound more mainstream eventually is up for debate but whilst they sound like this, the band have something seriously different to offer.
The problem a lot of bands that attempt to give themselves a retro sound have is that they end up just being compared to a handful of bands from the past but the criticism is that they never sound as good as their idols. It’s a fair criticism but judging by this EP, Reckless Ambition have nailed a sound and have made it their own, yeah they might take influence from classic rock bands from the past but they’re doing something different and trying to reinvent the genre.
The thing that’s striking about ‘The Night Is Alive’ is how good the vocals are, frontman Henry Gottelier has an engrossing and mature voice which fuses perfectly with the rhythm section of the band. Opening track ‘Gonna Have You Anyway’ sounds like an upbeat Soundgarden track and that’s partly due to the vocals being grungy and the guitar lines staying thick all the way through the song, but the important thing is it works and it never feels like a pastiche.
What’s really great about this band is looking at them you would assume they’d play pop punk songs; they’ve got a really deceiving image which is definitely a positive because the music is full of quality. The track on the EP which doesn’t seem to work as well as the others is ‘Self Destruction’ as it just felt mundane and the lyrics were obvious and it didn’t feel like it matched the quality of the other songs. Maybe the same can be said for ‘Swallow Your Pride’ although that song does grow on you and has the band doing something different in playing a slow number.
Overall ‘The Night Is Alive’ is a great EP from a really promising band and the fantastic thing is seeing a band that could easily just play three-chord rock songs doing something interesting and actually being inventive with their style. Part 2 of the release is due for early 2013 and if the quality stays as high as it is on this EP, then the band could have a big future ahead of them.
8/10
Reviewer: Greg Spencer
