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Kentucky’s Lions Rampant play the kind of rock ‘n roll that smells like sweat and whiskey—snarl-y, sneer-y, screech-y, dirt-under-the-fingernails music that sounds cheap and unfiltered, as though some dirty men woke up one day and decided they wanted to be rockers. This is entirely positive. Consider the current trends of indie rock and how innocuous the music seems when each band member resembles something straight off the sidewalks of Williamsburg. So it’s almost…pleasant listening to a band that is sort of unpleasant to listen to.
The band describes their musical mission as “[returning] smart, fun, blues-infused rock ‘n roll to the masses,” which is maybe true. However, the “blues” of which they speak doesn’t really call to mind the soulful stylings of Muddy Waters; it’s too brash and obvious—like the fictional Blueshammer with a punk attitude. The Black Keys are a good reference point, as is Mudhoney, minus a bit of the unintelligible grunge muttering (the former being one of the Lions’ influences); these bands share a similar disregard for polish and hygiene, and a passion for gritty guitar rifts and hoarse vocals.
Play Rock N Roll! is more basement rock than garage rock (basements are the new garages!), with a spazzy energy that would make a mamma holler “some of us are trying to sleep!” But who needs sleep when there are faces to melt and eardrums to shatter. It’s exactly the kind of record that inspires ridiculous acts of stupidity, like diving off the roof or drinking 20 beers in 20 minutes. Again, this is positive. There’s no room for obscurity here: the six-song, 17-minute record is strongest when singer Stuart MacKenzie channels the bratty wail of anti-hipsters. “Let Us In! (Come On)” is wonderfully self-centered, with its murky beat and MacKenzie’s not-quite-sexy “uh uh uhs,” while “70 30” re-imagines fellow blues enthusiast Mick Jagger’s “you get what you need” attitude as bathroom stall philosophy.
For more information, visit www.thelionsrampant.com or www.myspace.com/thelionsrampant. Tour dates can be found on the band’s official website, as well as information about downloading Play Rock N Roll!
-Lara
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