With their five-song EP, Playin With Fire, this is Cannock, UK band Piston's first 'big' offering, one to garner some well-deserved buzz. The band's logo reads 'est. 2012', so at one year of age, this band is storming out of the gates, ready to roll.
Playin With Fire is a catchy, straight-ahead, driving rock & roll disc, right from it's opening. It is a full band effort, not a release to showcase one member. The band really draws a listener in to hear what they're about: aggressive, blues-tinged rock and roll. This disc isn’t trying to overwhelm their listener’s senses. Piston deliver solid, well-crafted songs with a dash of flash, and an overall in-your-face demeanor. There are four originals and one cover tune present. The cover, Credence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary", has definitely been changed and 'made their own' with a very updated, heavy, modern rock vibe.
One test to employ is: 'if so-and-so recorded this, what would you say about it?' and replace 'so-and-so' with one of your favorite artists from the genre. This will give you a much more detailed opinion then simply saying 'this is a good record'. Bands who come to mind while listening to this include AC/DC, The Cult, perhaps a touch of earlier Deep Purple, and a variety of 'arena rock' type sounds from the late 1980's. A 'modern' band who was playing music similar in style was Black Country Communion.
The EP has a fine clear production, not as crisp as some, lending it a warm, 'alive' tone. The band produces quality songs that have the right amount of smoothness, or 'ebb and flow' to them. Bass guitar lends a monstrously heavy underpinning in "A Hand In Yours". If you're in to really virtuosic "shred guitar", the speed isn't going to faze you too much. If this is your 'gateway' to fairly flashy hard rock, then you're going to think the world of some of it. Enjoy the coda of "A Hand In Yours" for what it presents: high-speed hard rock guitar. There are a few textures or accents present, and the flash is one of 'em. Drums are solid and lend interest to the tunes. "Misery" has some quirky syncopation at the beginning, without losing heaviness. The lyrics are sung clearly but the mix on this album sort of buries them, so they're not as intelligible as you might expect. It lends an almost 'live in concert' feel to the tunes. Vocals are full, emotive, and powerful.
Playin With Fire is, pretty much, good rock 'as you'd expect': it's got the little drum fills, vocal effects, and chord accents in all the right places, plus it's neither overplayed nor underplayed. The EP has been 'mixed loud', so if it's played without adjusting the volume down a little, it may sound like TV commercials used to: much louder then 'the pack'. In at least two tunes, the bass line follows the guitar, so either it's done to thicken the overall sound, or as a new band they just haven't explored all of the nuance a 'different' bass line can offer a good rock band. Each song has one commonality: the ending. Every tune has a crisp, sudden ending. Listeners can't expect the same amount of variety as on a full-length disc, so this seems deliberate. It's an interesting anecdote. This EP doesn't attempt to re-invent the genre, it simply does what it does, and does it well.
For fortunate fans, the band entertains with their energetic live shows. It's a young band, but the members have some obvious real-world music experience behind them. Playin With Fire jams with nice, heavy tunes, not 'your elders' rock n' roll'. The band would be well-served to pursue a full-length release. Future Piston releases should definitely be put on 'watch lists', for these guys have a lot of potential locked up in those heavy riffs and thick grooves.
- Iris North
Piston EP 'Playing With Fire' Teaser
Rating: 8/10
Track Listing:
Dark Angel
A Hand In Yours
Playin With Fire
Misery
Proud Mary (Credence Clearwater Revival cover)
Band Lineup:
Steve Nunn – Vocals
Jack Edwards – Guitars
Luke Allat – Guitars
Stuart Egan – Bass
Brad Newlands – Drums
Links:
http://www.facebook.com/PistonUK
http://twitter.com/PistonMusic
http://www.reverbnation.com/pistonuk
http://www.youtube.com/pistonband
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