Revenant – Black Dogs and Sad Men EP
Rising contemporary rockers Revenant, who carry more than a splash of southern rocking grit in their sound, have followed up earlier in the year EP Best Medicine with another 5 track release, Black Dogs and Sad Men.
Much like Best Medicine, the songs on the new EP from Sam Lay (vocals, guitar), Matt Hudson (guitar), Robin Nutley (bass) and Carl Donoghue (drums) have been well-honed playing live, many of which have become fan favourites.
As such they act as a Part 2 to Best Medicine, albeit each song has its own identity, with insightful or thoughtful lyricism that speaks to struggles and various emotions a lot of people go, or will go through, in their lives - defiance, despair, compassion, lust, and acceptance.
Opener 'Lie Your Living' is the up-tempo, riff-driven, big-beat side of Revenant.
Punky in spirit, the number is as hard hitting as Sam Lay’s defiant tag-line ("I’m calling your bluff, cos I’ve had enough of your stupid stuff - and the lie you’re living!)
The muscly and mid-tempo title track perhaps best underlines the band’s ever-growing maturity as songwriters, with an emphasis on serious subject matter. In this case the topic is mental health struggles, and the male trait of not wanting to discuss it ("I don’t want to talk, I want to go").
The downtempo 'I’ll Be There' is, as the title suggests, a declaration of support in times of need.
Musically the song reaches to the classic southern ballad for inspiration; that it also features a tasteful, southern crying guitar solo and one of Sam Lay’s best vocals to date, only enhances the song further.
A true highlight, 'I’ll Be There' is the comforting Yin to the title track’s anguished Yang ("when the morning comes, and the rising sun makes you feel you don’t belong, take my hand, and understand, I’ll be there").
The mid-tempo, high-heeled strut of 'Sex With No Substance' might be straight from the Book Of AC/DC, but what it lacks in originality it makes up for by being highly infectious (no doubt in both senses) and the base level honesty of its lust-fuelled lyric.
Vocal & acoustic guitar closer 'All We Need,' with subtle string-effect backing, shows yet another side to the band. Beautiful in its simplicity, and featuring another great vocal from Sam Lay, its true strength lies in the reflective poignancy of the lyric ("Time is all we have, time is all we need").
Revenant’s 2024 debut EP What a Time To Be Alive presented a band who had the chops and potential, but, other than emotive ballad 'The Healer' and the semi-anthemic 'Rolling On My Back,' didn’t yet have the song quality to separate themselves from the southern-tinged, contemporary rock pack.
Best Medicine and Black Dogs and Sad Men, however, showcase a band that could yet become one of the leaders of that pack.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Revenant will be special guests on Preacher Stone’s upcoming UK tour dates
January 28 - Faversham - The Old Brewery Store
January 29 - London - Cart and Horses
January 30 - Winchester - Railway Inn
January 31 - St Austell - St Austell Band Club
February 3 - Edinburgh - Bannermans
February 4 - Glasgow - Ivory Blacks
February 5 - Newcastle - Trillians
February 6 - Nottingham - The Old Cold Store
February 7 - Birmingham - Asylum 2
February 8 - Bristol - The Louisiana
Much like Best Medicine, the songs on the new EP from Sam Lay (vocals, guitar), Matt Hudson (guitar), Robin Nutley (bass) and Carl Donoghue (drums) have been well-honed playing live, many of which have become fan favourites.
As such they act as a Part 2 to Best Medicine, albeit each song has its own identity, with insightful or thoughtful lyricism that speaks to struggles and various emotions a lot of people go, or will go through, in their lives - defiance, despair, compassion, lust, and acceptance.
Opener 'Lie Your Living' is the up-tempo, riff-driven, big-beat side of Revenant.
Punky in spirit, the number is as hard hitting as Sam Lay’s defiant tag-line ("I’m calling your bluff, cos I’ve had enough of your stupid stuff - and the lie you’re living!)
The muscly and mid-tempo title track perhaps best underlines the band’s ever-growing maturity as songwriters, with an emphasis on serious subject matter. In this case the topic is mental health struggles, and the male trait of not wanting to discuss it ("I don’t want to talk, I want to go").
The downtempo 'I’ll Be There' is, as the title suggests, a declaration of support in times of need.
Musically the song reaches to the classic southern ballad for inspiration; that it also features a tasteful, southern crying guitar solo and one of Sam Lay’s best vocals to date, only enhances the song further.
A true highlight, 'I’ll Be There' is the comforting Yin to the title track’s anguished Yang ("when the morning comes, and the rising sun makes you feel you don’t belong, take my hand, and understand, I’ll be there").
The mid-tempo, high-heeled strut of 'Sex With No Substance' might be straight from the Book Of AC/DC, but what it lacks in originality it makes up for by being highly infectious (no doubt in both senses) and the base level honesty of its lust-fuelled lyric.
Vocal & acoustic guitar closer 'All We Need,' with subtle string-effect backing, shows yet another side to the band. Beautiful in its simplicity, and featuring another great vocal from Sam Lay, its true strength lies in the reflective poignancy of the lyric ("Time is all we have, time is all we need").
Revenant’s 2024 debut EP What a Time To Be Alive presented a band who had the chops and potential, but, other than emotive ballad 'The Healer' and the semi-anthemic 'Rolling On My Back,' didn’t yet have the song quality to separate themselves from the southern-tinged, contemporary rock pack.
Best Medicine and Black Dogs and Sad Men, however, showcase a band that could yet become one of the leaders of that pack.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Revenant will be special guests on Preacher Stone’s upcoming UK tour dates
January 28 - Faversham - The Old Brewery Store
January 29 - London - Cart and Horses
January 30 - Winchester - Railway Inn
January 31 - St Austell - St Austell Band Club
February 3 - Edinburgh - Bannermans
February 4 - Glasgow - Ivory Blacks
February 5 - Newcastle - Trillians
February 6 - Nottingham - The Old Cold Store
February 7 - Birmingham - Asylum 2
February 8 - Bristol - The Louisiana