antiMusic.com: Rival Sons - Pressure & Time Review

Rival Sons - Pressure & Time
by Kevin Wierzbicki

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Rival Sons take their inspiration primarily from the classic blues-rock sounds of the late '60s and early '70s and that it certainly an excellent era to draw from. "All Over the Road" is a boogie blues number reminiscent of early Foghat (way before they "sold out" with "Slow Ride") while "Young Love" mashes up the mighty Zep and a bit of Eric Burdon & the Animals-style psychedelia. Singer Jay Buchanan tends to sound a bit like Robert Plant when he really wails so Zeppelin comparisons inevitably abound and you can really hear the similarities on the title cut. Fortunately Rival Sons are not into mimicry; songs like "Get Mine" may borrow heavily from the Jimi Hendrix songbook and "Save Me" looks all the way back to Humble Pie but there's enough nuance in Buchanan's voice to bring new vibrancy to these familiar sounds. The order of the day here, both in lyrical content and musical styling, is urgency, just as an album title like Pressure & Time implies. But all the listener has to do is turn it up; this one is meant to blow out cheap speakers and get the neighbors pounding on the wall.

US Release 7-26-01

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