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Energy presents a diversely-appointed collection of hard rock rhythm and mighty melodic power balladry in their debut album after forty years of waiting, Rock Party, which is due out this upcoming June and already getting a warm reception from fans and critics alike.
Featuring heavy groove tracks like “And I’m Doing Alright,” “Fight for Your Freedom,” and the stony “Cry of a Child” just to name a few, Energy is a record that has crossover appeal with both metalheads and rock n’ roll buffs thanks to its dexterous mixture of bass-soaked riffs and edgy percussive swing. The band shows off their ambitions in all eight of these elegantly produced songs and displays a genuinely smart knack for generating stylish hooks inside of reckless rock carnage, and if this is only a sampling of what they’re capable of doing when nothing is holding them back in the studio, then they’ve likely got a very successful career ahead of them.
URL: https://energyukrockband.co.uk/
The soft rocking “We Dream the Dream,” rip-roar “You Are Too Good to Lose,” and murky “And I’m Doing Alright” have very little in common with each other stylistically, but they share a defined EQ that scoops all of the middle out of their tone to produce the most physical sound possible, even when consumed at moderate volumes. Energy does a lot of muscle flexing on this record but, for the most part, they’re pretty careful about avoiding the hazards of creative excess. “Spitfire Glory Boy” flirts with surrealism in its airy chorus, but in comparison to “This Part of Town is a No Go” it’s one of the more restrained songs on the whole of the record. “Fight for Your Freedom” is a straightforward masterpiece, and it evens out the somewhat obscure indulgences that we find in “We Dream the Dream” perfectly.
The vocals are the star of the show in the title track as well as the aforementioned “We Dream the Dream” and “Fight for Your Freedom,” but in the case of “Spitfire Glory Boy,” “You Are Too Good to Lose” and “And I’m Doing Alright,” the instrumentation (to be even more explicit, the guitar arrangements) are expressing the lion’s share of the narrative. Rock Party is rife with hybridity, for better or worse, and though it’s a little all over the place in the complete tracklist, there’s a strong potential in each of these songs when we break them down on an individual basis. The best attribute this band has got going for them is their mammoth muscularity – a staple feature of this record – and I’m very eager to hear how they expand on it in future LPs.
Energy utilizes a litany of sonic weapons in the studio on this first offering and delivers a satisfying listening experience for anyone who appreciates a decadent slab of rock n’ roll rebellion. There’s no overdone pop polish, silly overdubbing, or glaring Pro Tools edits in the master mix; from top to bottom, these rockers cut us a firebrand LP divided into eight meticulously crafted movements that tell us a lot about their band and the creative spirit driving their music.
Mark Druery
