GUN: Hombres (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

It may be trite to say that the Scotts have a strong character, but it's no less true. Take GUN, the Gizzi brothers' combo. Blessed with a talent that has seen them tour with the Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi, the quintet has never been able to reach the heights they were destined to reach. Their allergy to compromise eventually led to a split between 1997 and 2008, and a fifteen-year recording silence broken in 2012 with the release of the excellent "Break The Silence". The fifth opus since their return to the turntables, "Hombres" follows on from "The Calton Songs", released in 2022, which saw the Glasgow band revisit a number of songs from their repertoire.

Marked by a change of guitarist, with Ruaraidh McFarlane replacing Johnny McGlynn, the new line-up entrusted levers to Simon Bloor (Trevor Horn) for production, and Daryl Thorpe (Foo Fighters) for mixing. And it has to be said that the two men have succeeded in striking a perfect balance between the relative classicism of the compositions and the modernity of the sound. As on the excellent "Favorite Pleasures", our northern Celts have fun skilfully navigating between different musical genres to avoid too obvious a classification, sailing between unadorned, direct and effective hard rock ('All Fired Up' with its discreet hints of Billy Idol's 'White Wedding') and modern pop with bluesy and gospel overtones ('You Are What I Need').

The Gizzi Corporation 's most obvious strength is to stamp their melodic, energetic stamp on each track, and to endow them all with hyper-catchy choruses, giving the whole a perfect balance between variety and coherence. The result is a perfect balance of variety and coherence, allowing you to move from a big rock song designed to heat up the asphalt ('Take Me Back Home') to a false ballad rising to a moving mid-tempo ('Falling') or a pop rock song with a refreshingly bouncy riff ('Fake Life'). Each track systematically rekindles attention and maintains enthusiasm at its peak, even when the finale crosses into darker territory, supported by a more massive bass and heavy drums ('Don't Hide Your Fears Tonight', 'Lucky Guy').

If it has taken seven long years to finally enjoy new material, the result amply justifies the necessary patience. "Hombres" is yet another demonstration of GUN 's talent for dishing out varied, highly effective rock. Multifaceted yet marked by a clear identity, the Scots' music deserves to make its way onto the FM airwaves, so that it can receive recognition commensurate with its quality and integrity. - Official website

GUN

HOMBRES

COOKING VINYL

ROCK