Silveroller - At Dawn EP

Given the number (and varying quality) of ever-emerging bands in the New Wave Of British Classic Rock scene there are absolutely no guarantees of any major success.
However Silveroller, featuring Jonnie Hodson (vocals), Aaron Keylock (guitars), Joe Major (drums), Ross Munro (organ) and Jake James Cornes (bass), are guaranteed to have fans of classic, 70s era, swaggering rock and roll (early Rod Stewart/ The Faces, The Black Crowes, Bad Company/ Free, touches of Zeppelin, et al) championing their cause.
Their own press, in anticipation of debut release At Dawn (a 6 song, 27 minute EP/ mini-album) pretty much sums the quintet up – high-energy rock n' roll played tight but loose, with bags of heart and soul.
The band’s other modus operandi – rallying cries for freedom, all-for-one solidarity and protest songs (another old school trait) – are also present and correct, particularly on the big-beat, organ enhanced rock and raucous roll of second number 'Hold' ("And I believe, that freedom, has got a hold on me!" emphatically delivers Jonnie Hodson).
But the band go a lot further than those rock and roll staples by offering up an introductory musical CV that says more across 6 songs than many a similar rock orientated band show with a couple of albums under their NWOBCR belts.
Opener 'Black Crow' typifies the band’s rock and roll swagger; straight out of the best the 70s had to offer, the niftily riff driven number boogies atop a solid rhythm, cleverly light and shaded verses and a funky middle 8/ short instrumental section.
The more delicate opening of 'Ways Of Saying' soon gives way to a full-bodied, power down chorus section before dropping back to its softer/ part-harmonised verses (the band also have a good sense of dynamics). The song then kicks back into its high-powered "I’ve Found a Way!” chorus cry, the results of which come across as the The Black Crowes at their weightiest meeting The Faces with their amps melting at 11.
Another strength of the band is that Jonnie Hodson reminds of the late and great Steve Marriott, not in vocal timbre but in passion and execution of delivery, as evident on mid-tempo rock and roll number 'Turn To Gold.' That the impressive six-minute song also features a little country rock within its framework, a tasty solo from Aaron Keylock and a Who-esque rock outro, only reinforces how good a song this is.
The rock and southern roll of 'Other Side,' comprised of gritty verses, an infectious singalong chorus and some wicked slide from Aaron Keylock, wouldn’t be out of place on a Black Crowes record – to the degree that the Robinson brothers are probably wondering how they didn’t come up with it first (that said if there’s no Black Crowes, there’s no 'Other Side' of Silveroller).
The band keep the best to last with 'Come On, Come In,' a song that is of the maturity you’d expect to hear closing out a second full-length album, not a debut EP.
From softer-shaded beginnings the song lifts to a southern-tinged, organ backed, heavy soul blues with well considered rise & fall and a solo from Aaron Keylock that’s as impassioned as Jonnie Hodson’s vocal ("Come on, come in, I need you; come on, come in, I know you need me too").
At Dawn is a stand-out statement of intent to bring the best of rock and roll times back, connect, and have a bloody good time doing it – or, as the band themselves say "the future is bright and it's patchouli scented!"
Smells (and sounds) great from here, boys.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
However Silveroller, featuring Jonnie Hodson (vocals), Aaron Keylock (guitars), Joe Major (drums), Ross Munro (organ) and Jake James Cornes (bass), are guaranteed to have fans of classic, 70s era, swaggering rock and roll (early Rod Stewart/ The Faces, The Black Crowes, Bad Company/ Free, touches of Zeppelin, et al) championing their cause.
Their own press, in anticipation of debut release At Dawn (a 6 song, 27 minute EP/ mini-album) pretty much sums the quintet up – high-energy rock n' roll played tight but loose, with bags of heart and soul.
The band’s other modus operandi – rallying cries for freedom, all-for-one solidarity and protest songs (another old school trait) – are also present and correct, particularly on the big-beat, organ enhanced rock and raucous roll of second number 'Hold' ("And I believe, that freedom, has got a hold on me!" emphatically delivers Jonnie Hodson).
But the band go a lot further than those rock and roll staples by offering up an introductory musical CV that says more across 6 songs than many a similar rock orientated band show with a couple of albums under their NWOBCR belts.
Opener 'Black Crow' typifies the band’s rock and roll swagger; straight out of the best the 70s had to offer, the niftily riff driven number boogies atop a solid rhythm, cleverly light and shaded verses and a funky middle 8/ short instrumental section.
The more delicate opening of 'Ways Of Saying' soon gives way to a full-bodied, power down chorus section before dropping back to its softer/ part-harmonised verses (the band also have a good sense of dynamics). The song then kicks back into its high-powered "I’ve Found a Way!” chorus cry, the results of which come across as the The Black Crowes at their weightiest meeting The Faces with their amps melting at 11.
Another strength of the band is that Jonnie Hodson reminds of the late and great Steve Marriott, not in vocal timbre but in passion and execution of delivery, as evident on mid-tempo rock and roll number 'Turn To Gold.' That the impressive six-minute song also features a little country rock within its framework, a tasty solo from Aaron Keylock and a Who-esque rock outro, only reinforces how good a song this is.
The rock and southern roll of 'Other Side,' comprised of gritty verses, an infectious singalong chorus and some wicked slide from Aaron Keylock, wouldn’t be out of place on a Black Crowes record – to the degree that the Robinson brothers are probably wondering how they didn’t come up with it first (that said if there’s no Black Crowes, there’s no 'Other Side' of Silveroller).
The band keep the best to last with 'Come On, Come In,' a song that is of the maturity you’d expect to hear closing out a second full-length album, not a debut EP.
From softer-shaded beginnings the song lifts to a southern-tinged, organ backed, heavy soul blues with well considered rise & fall and a solo from Aaron Keylock that’s as impassioned as Jonnie Hodson’s vocal ("Come on, come in, I need you; come on, come in, I know you need me too").
At Dawn is a stand-out statement of intent to bring the best of rock and roll times back, connect, and have a bloody good time doing it – or, as the band themselves say "the future is bright and it's patchouli scented!"
Smells (and sounds) great from here, boys.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ