Gonzales
Blues on the Verge of Apocalypse

Bluesing on the verge of apocalypse, that apocalyptic vision is what Gonzales offers us with their latest release, an EP of five tracks. Gonzales is a bit of a strange name, I recall a band called Sanchez I reviewed a while back, I hope that is no indication as that album was not very good. Gonzales are from Italy and they are said to be one of the most interesting bands in the Italian and European rock and roll panorama, that makes it sound a lot more interesting than the album looks judging by the cover which is not very interesting. But are they really as interesting as they are described to be?

Musically they cannot be said to be either ground breaking or meticulously produced, their sound is dirty and sounds like it was recorded and mixed, mastered and all of that in the late seventies or early eighties and not 2012. The songs are rather catchy in nature especially the choruses and the song structures runs a tried and tested version, with simple buildups to strong choruses. Nothing that requires anything extraordinary from the listener is presented on the five tracks that make up this EP, they have even covered Thin Lizzy’s Don’t Believe a Word on this EP. An EP that plays for eighteen and a half minute which makes it quite short which might allow you not to tire of the songs which are not that varied in nature but all built very similarly. Overall it sounds a bit like “roadmovie”-music or something for motorcyclists or truckers, something one imagines would work very well on a truck stop. Dirty rock’n’roll is what it is, with some traces of punk as well.

But is it good? I would say that it is alright, rather good actually. There is a good flow and good energy in the songs, it is catchy and it has an attitude of classic rock’n’roll and that has to be good. The singer is okay and thanks to the energy you can overlook that rather weak production which I would say is a bit of an achilles heel for the band. I am certain that it would have sounded a whole lot better had the production been a bit more modern and crisp.

Nonetheless, the third track Spellbound is brilliant and the ending cover isn’t too shabby either so it is obvious that the band has something. But one of the most interesting in Europe or Italy, I don’t think so. The three tracks not mentioned are quite anonymous to be honest, they don’t really do anything for me, just pass by like a bit of noise to pass the day or something in that fashion. I think that if you like this kind of raw rock and roll, it will be something that will make you smile and enjoy but if you aren’t that big a fan of that genre, this album will not do anything more to persuade you into it either. The thing is that in today’s market it is difficult for a band to make a real impression and this is one EP that I started playing back in may but never really got around to do the review preparations as I kept forgetting about it, until I decided that it was time to really go for it. One track was a treat but the rest of the EP, besides maybe the cover, is quite forgetful, not bad but not really good either.

In the end I would say that it is a decent rock’n’roll EP but I doubt that Gonzales will put any bigger mark on the rock map with it.

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