SIDEBURN: Fired Up (HARD ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

While their already strong musical identity generally avoids any unpleasant surprises, there are always a few uncertainties surrounding the release of a new opus from Switzerland's Sideburn. Indeed, since the band's split in 2011, which saw the creation of Backwater while Roland Pierrehumbert and Lionel Blanc remained the only survivors of the line-up, the latter has been far from stable. With the pair's penchant for changing labels and testing out a new producer with each album, all bets were off when it came to discovering “Fired Up”.

For this eighth release under the Sideburn moniker, but the tenth if we add those released in their early days under the Genocide name, what seems set to become a tradition has been respected. Goodbye Fastball Music, hello Massacre Records. As for production, it's Denis Ward's turn to get behind the controls. Last but not least, Lawrence Lina and Nick Thornton are replaced by Sickyy Lyo and Thierry Nydegger on guitar and bass. And yet, as usual, we might add, Sideburn continues to do Sideburn. The spirit of the giants of Australian pub-rock is still very much present, without ever being cloned, and fans will find their dose of riffs cut for the highways, sharpened choruses and sturdy tempi.

'Feel The Heat' immediately conjures up the spectre of AC/DC, with Lionel Blanc one of the few drummers to follow Phil Rudd in his ability to get to the bottom of the beat. The use of slide, coupled with Roland Pierrehumbert's rocky, scathing vocals, is as reminiscent as ever of Rose Tattoo ('Heading Down The Road 69'), and the spirit of The Angels isn't far away when some of the tracks are more rock than hard rock ('Mystical Lady'). But where the quintet stands out from many other bands, is that it always manages to slip in a few elements that renew its formula, such as the grimy blues of 'Bad Side Of Town', with its succulent solo on which harmonica and guitar clash, the nervous and brawling 'Restless Call', and a 'Tired Of The Road' ready to melt the asphalt, whose bluesy effluvia recalls the best of Great White.

After convincing René Jacquot, world boxing champion in 1989, to star in the video for 'Standing In The Headlines', Sideburn once again confirms that it remains the European leader in its genre. Personnel changes around the band and in its line-up seem to guarantee a renewal of its inspiration without ever jeopardizing its trademark. Let's hope that “Fired Up” will enable them to establish themselves a little more firmly with fans of the genre. - Official website

SIDEBURN

FIRED UP

MASSACRE RECORDS

HARD ROCK