ALBUM REVIEW: Electric Mary's electrifying rock captured on 'The Last Great Hope"

WHEN discussing with a colleague the upcoming Electric Mary gig on Friday (November 7th) at Diamond Rock Club it was difficult to pin down exactly what these Oz rockers could be described as...


The closest we came to was Black Stone Cherry meet The Answer, Jet and Airbourne on the way to a BB King gig.


And, as we listened at Metal Mansions to their current ep 'The Last Great Hope' we kind of think we were close enough to the mark.


Kicking off with a fast-paced riff driven 'Welcome To The Otherside' Alex's bass and Davey's drums drive this track forward, without it ever losing coherence.


By the time slow opening groove of 'Nicotine' comes into focus there is a shift to a mid-paced rocker. While emos do angst blues rock does emotion. Rusty's voice comes across laden with pain and frustration, wrung dry by the situation.


These Melbourne based rockers know how to pitch tempo, scales, range and registers in the right combination. If you've listened to any of their previous releases you'll know where we are coming from.


Just before then three-minute mark Pete and Brett wrestle the song down to the ground, speeding up everything for a brief searing solo - just the right time before the chorus gives way to a sweet solo coda.


But, when it comes to easing the pain of life there's nothing like a bluesy take on the balladic musical form, and on 'Already Gone' the band combine as Rusty pours out his guts. As Pete and Brett make their guitars weep, an organ swirls round the sound. The snap of Dave's snare just a reminder that this isn't some freeform jazz wankery, but a proper blues rock song. The crescendos leading into each chorus driven on by Alex's low bass rumble make this worth listening to many times over.


If they were ever to forcefeed  Tom Petty steroids for a month and then give him some good drugs and a guitar the resulting sound would be something akin to ep closer 'So Closer'. Opening with a DC style rolling riff it moves into a Heartbreaker style song that Rusty roars on before the more melodic verse and chorus are given the counterpoint of some deep riffing.
As for Sweet Mary C - well it's just sweet - and not in a sickly way!


On the strength of this ep we pretty much reckon any fan of classic rock, blues rock, hard rock would be an idiot for missing Friday's gig at The Diamond...

Review by Jonny