And at long last, here’s the début album from Stone Gods, the band that survived Justin Hawkins’s ego. The question is, does Silver Spoons & Broken Bones step out sufficiently from the shadow of The Darkness to let Stone Gods stand tall in their own right?
Straight off the block, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that Stone Gods are never going to be as big as The Darkness were, because the musical landscape isn’t as fertile for the classic hard rock sound as it was earlier in the decade. However, that’s not to say they don’t have the skills – after all, it’s largely the same band, the major change being new frontman Richie Edwards, promoted from humble guitar tech to howling out the songs stage centre. Edwards may not have the instantly recognisable falsetto of his predecessor, but he’s got a solid Bon Scott screech and plenty of delivery panache.
Stone Gods are diverse in their appropriation of old styles – you can quite easily play “spot the inspiration” as you listen to Silver Spoons & Broken Bones – but they’re approaching the material from that familiar direction, coming down the narrow and occasionally treacherous path between homage and pastiche. So what you get is a collection of thirteen songs that all sound curiously familiar – provided you have a passing familiarity with the classic monsters of rock.
Maybe it’s just personal preference, but I definitely feel Stone Gods are at their best on the more raucous rock tunes. The Monty-Python-meets-Tenacious-D of “Burn The Witch” is uncomplicated but energetic, while “Don’t Drink The Water” sounds like an Anglophonic AC/DC … had AC/DC ever abandoned sleazy innuendo for writing songs about package holidays in Spain, that is. Make no mistake, Silver Spoons & Broken Bones has a brisk comic undercurrent.
The problem is that makes the ballads and slower numbers fall a bit flat; I find myself waiting for gags that don’t arrive. Kudos to Stone Gods‘ song-craft, though; they know how to assemble a radio-friendly tune with classic appeal, and their resurrection of the golden era rock sounds is faithful and precise, which should endear them to an older audience base. Silver Spoons & Broken Bones isn’t going to be wowing “the kids” on MTV2, though – wistful Zeppelin-esque jangles like “Magdelene Street” won’t appeal to the novelty haircut lobby.
But Stone Gods are openly insistant that they’re not interested in fame and fortune this time round, and if that’s true they’ve taken the sensible choice by playing what they really love. The older market is more forgiving and more loyal over time, and I can imagine Stone Gods never being short of support slots on the nostalgia circuit.
And there’s more than a couple of tracks on Silver Spoons & Broken Bones that will find their way into the list of reliable end-of-night tracks of rock Djs everywhere; the cheery hedonisms of “Wasting Time” and “I’m With the Band” have singalong choruses that will provide the perfect ending to a beery night down the pub with your mates. What could be more rock’n'roll than that?
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: classic rock, hard rock, Silver Spoons & Broken Bones, Stone Gods
