In 2011 Rival Sons were still on the precipice of breaking out. Two years prior they had put out their debut record Before the Fire, though that album had not made all that huge of a splash with the mainstream rock audience. That entire album had been recorded for the band that they were before they got Jay Buchanan on vocals. The band then decided to do an EP that would be a better representation of what their sound was now that they had some time to gel as a foursome. The result was Rival Sons.
Though Rival Sons was only six tracks long, it had a great deal more fire, energy, and drive to it than the entire Before the Fire album did. The EP ranges from fun zippy radio rock tunes to lumbering stoner rock tunes to acoustic ballads to jazz and beyond. They are all over the map here and yet it still manages to gel together into something cohesive and fun that to this day I still play on repeat over and over again without getting bored.
"Torture" is a Rival Sons staple. No show of theirs is complete without it being performed. It's a hard rocking stomper for sure. It has an ear worm of a riff from guitarist Scott Holiday. One of the great things about this song though is that it is not all full blast all the time. It knows when to back off to create more suspense, which results in that much more explosive and fun energy when the band comes roaring back in. It's a modern classic for sure.
My absolute favorite Rival Sons song of all time comes from this record, which is "Soul". It is a bass and drum centric song in terms of instrumentation and has a more slow jazzy feel to it. However, don't let that make you think it's a wimpy song. It most certainly is not. It has a real Led Zeppelin vibe and can get incredibly powerful. Jay's performance on it is haunting and flooring. Robin Everhart plays an incredibly thick bass line that seems so intricate yet simple at the same time. Michael Miley shows some of his greatest finesse behind the kit here as well.
I cannot recommend Rival Sons enough. Like I said earlier, it may only be six tracks long but it makes up for it by being all killer and no filler. Honestly, the short track list is probably what gives it its strength. There is something to enjoy in every track. Even the guys who have not listened to anything since they graduated high school in 1977 might actually find something in here to enjoy as well. What a novel concept, right?
Rival Sons, by Rival Sons receives 4.5/5 stars.
Track List:
1. Get What's Coming
2. Torture
3. Radio
4. Sacred Tongue
5. Sleepwalker
6. Soul
Buy the album on Bandcamp:
https://rival-sons.bandcamp.com/album/rival-sons-ep
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