The Gentlemen Bastards Review

This four piece Alabama band have a score to settle with modern rock music, feeling the ship is going wayward, The Gentlemen Bastards have a self proclaimed mission to change the course and bring back classic hard rock and roll. Well, do they accomplish such a grand feat with one album? Short answer no, but they’re pretty damn good.

Through ten tracks ‘The Bastards’ display a heavy, stoner rock sound which they clearly owe to the influences of Soundgarden, Black Sabbath and Clutch (though their homepage seems desperate to get away from the ‘Clutch’ connection); every track is brash, energetic and aggressive rock and roll. Guitarist Bill Barry delivers some absolutely rip roaring solos in “Motorcycle Song” and “Deja Vu,” and some short punchy riffs that power such tracks as “Last Rites” and “Take A Ride.” The Rhythm section deserves a lot of praise throughout the record as jazz bassist  Bödvar Bödvarsson and drummer Dave Stanley allow longer songs like “Bad Wolf” and “NMR” to swing and swagger along, giving the guitarist free reign to wail and create some psychotic sounds.

Not being the biggest fan of stoner rock music, I enjoyed a lot of ‘The Bastards’ music. It’s a finely produced album and considering they are newly formed band one would think they would need to refine their sound more to pull off ten and seven minute songs, however they pull it off perfectly. There’s promise in this band and a lot to like if you’re into aggressive rhythms and bellowing guitars.

The Review: 8/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Motorcycle Song
– Bad Wolf
– Take A Ride
– NMR

The Big Hit

– Last Rites

Review by Josh May