With the breakup of The White Stripes, The Black Keys has become one of the only mainstream blues-rock bands still jamming out. However, Rival Sons are looking to join The Black Keys with their second album, Pressure & Time.
The album is content with being pure down-and-dirty southern rock; no pussyfooting here. On “Young Love,” the guitar cackles and the bass thumps as lead singer Jay Buchanan’s deep, thundering vocals take charge and sing of just loving someone so much. The rhythms of “Pressure and Time” never stop with the back-up vocals that ask, “Can we build it up?” reaching soul sermon territory.
Pressure & Time only slows down on closer “Face of Light” as the band restrains the clashing, and Buchanan takes time to agonizingly sing every word of the sparkle of a girl’s face. It’s a refreshing change of pace.
For the rollicking good time they are having, Rival Sons does little lyrically or musically to push blues-rock into the new decade. At its worst, they come off as a Led Zeppelin cover band, but a damn good one at that. Such a worry seems to be the last thing on Rival Sons’ mind — all they want to do is rock out and have a good time.
