Man, there’s got to be a missing apostrophe somewhere in this Leeds-based quartet’s name. I keep looking at it and worrying. Years of editing copy have instilled certain instincts in me – shouldn’t that be Gentleman’s Pistols? Or even Gentlemen’s Pistols? Don’t they teach punctuation in UK schools anymore? Does punctuation really matter in the wild, hairy world of back-to-basics rock n’ roll? Should that be rock n’ roll or rock ‘n’ roll? How about rock-n-roll, or will that just make me look like a twat?
Okay, I’ve got that off my chest. Thanks for your patience; you’ve been a lovely audience.
Like so many rambunctious, raucous outfits in recent years, Gentlemans Pistols seem to have riffled through the vinyl collections of assorted older male relatives, and therein discovered their destiny – to rock! Miles away from the bedwetting Bambi-eyed entreaties or empty headed nudge-nudge, wink-wink posturing of too many of their peers in the Brit rock world, they play a strutting, cocky brand of rock music that’s rooted in the psychedelic-tinged hard rock of the late 60s and early 70s. Their sound actually winds up reminding me of Witchcraft at times, with the clean but rocking vocals and bluesy riffs, but laterally removed, if that makes any sense. While Witchcraft arrive at their sound via a love for pioneering doom bands like Pentagram or Trouble, Gentlemans Pistols is steeped in a more visceral, lusty vein of rock music. They play rowdy, stomping riffs and chug out a selection of infectious, concise songs that rarely stretch out beyond 3 minutes, but get a lot of seriously cool rocking done in the process, brimful with hooky choruses and wailing pentatonic solos. When they branch into a slower groove, as on the lust-addled euphoria of ‘Heavy Petting’, or the purposeful chug of ‘Parking Banshee’ they rock just as hard. Still, it’s clear that the pacey stuff, like the instant-conversion-factor opening track, ‘Just A Fraction’, ‘Out Of The Eye’ or ‘Widow Maker’ is what they’re all about.
Gentlemans Pistols do a great job of recapturing the excitement and energy of rock n’ roll music, back when it was emerging into a brave new world of fuzz and sweat. But it’s more than just a convincing revivalist act – they’ve got the energy and the tunes to make you a believer too.
Year of Release: 2007
Label: Rise Above / Candlelight USA
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