Danko Jones
Leo Rising
Perception Records
I’m a big fan of albums that appear without warning; it’s a busy world out there and we haven’t got time to waste on elongated intros or fancy preambles. It’s something that the eponymously-titled rock trio Danko Jones understand very well and opening salvo ‘What You Need’ arrives with guitars firing and fists flailing. It’s akin to being surrounded by a swarm of wasps with the band attacking from all angles, and like many bands who operate as a three-piece, Danko Jones create a sound bigger than their individual parts. The rhythm section locks in tightly to swing like a punchbag that’s taking a hell of a beating and the riffs from Danko’s guitar are barbed and of the sort you’d wish AC/DC would still write. While Danko Jones might have a tough exterior, at heart they’re all melody and that ensures songs such as ‘I’m Going Blind’ are oven ready, stadium filling anthems that demand thousands of voices sing along. Proving that raunchy rock n’ roll never goes out of style, ‘Hot Fox’ and ‘It’s A Celebration’ don’t bear over-analysis and it’s best to just bask in their life-affirming glory. “I can’t stop” sings Danko on Leo Rising’s penultimate track, and that’s something of which we should all be thankful!
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Review by Peter Dennis.