Gun Street Girls - Adult Loose (Album)
» Gun Street Girls launch new album, national tour - August 3, 2009
A simple as it sounds for an album review, amongst all the over the top crap that is said about music these days; this album is damn good. Gun Street Girls make a good album; plain and simple. First thing you'll notice about this album, is that it sounds a lot like the way rock'n'roll sounds in your head when someone says the words 'rock' and 'roll'. While there is no denying that due to the frontman also being Aussie rock stalwarts' Dallas Crane's frontman, both bands do sound similar. However, Adult Loose is a quality album, so it hardly matters that the album isn't really marking any new territory.
If you've never heard of Dallas Crane you probably don't listen to any Australian rock, or due to their habit of being ridiculously underrated you haven't come across them. They are one part guitar, drums and nicotine-tinged vocals. Gun Street Girls are just the same yet a little different, yet its hard to figure out just what exactly it is that's different. No doubt the different personnel is what results in a slightly different sound.
The album kicks off with an instrumental track called 'Casey's Good Fortune'. I know it sounds like something that would make you roll your eyes but hear me out. It sounds like a two minute intro to a song, but one that is very welcoming. It is pretty much a laid back guitar solo with a splash of drums. I am not normally one for instrumental tracks on albums that should have vocals, but in this instance it's welcome. The only thing I don't like about it, is that is kind of lulls you into a false sense of security before the next song.
And 'Johnny's Down For The Count' is a knock out track. Apologies, I couldn't resist the pun. It has pleasing guitar riffs and simple and catchy lyrics which work together perfectly. The verses are relatively subdued, while the chorus is rampant fun. 'Disappointing Friend' is a lot slower yet equally as good. Dave Larkin's voice is just pleasing to the ear. It's hard to define why, because he isn't a great singer in the traditional sense of the term, yet has a tremendous rock voice. It's like someone took Jimmy Barnes and took the bits of his voice that work and left all the grating behind.
'Pray For Me Now' would sound at home on an American country disc provided you change the Aussie accent while the next song 'Won't Be No Next Time' is beautiful. Admittedly a strange word to describe a song on an album that is otherwise textbook rock'n'roll, but this slower number is really well layered and shows off Larkin's voice in a way neither of his band's songs have managed to previously.
Other highlights include 'Let's Go Missing', 'Alpha Man', and album closer 'Tell It Like It Is' which caps off a well crafted set of eleven rock tunes aptly. There aren't any bad songs, and I've mentioned over three quarters of the album's songs as highlights, because, well; they are. 'That's the Kind of Fucker You Are' is probably the most Dallas Crane song on the record and maybe due to bering a fan of theirs, it's my favourite song on the album. Or perhaps because its the one that gets stuck in your head the most. Trust me when I say its a battle not to sing it to yourself wherever you go, even at work, which is not recommended given its expletives.
Adult Loose is a great rock album and yet another great offering from an Aussie band, which there seems to be an abundance of at the moment. If you are perhaps sick of the experimental or overly mainstream Australian rock out there at the moment, then you'll most likely enjoy the welcomely backwards feel of Adult Loose.
