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Originally from the working class burgh of Liverpool, England, the
Towers Of London made their way to London with their convoy
of Britrock fillings, hard rock modems, braggart winded punk voltage,
and youthful virility. Their predecessors have been Sweet,
AC/DC, Slade, and Uriah Heep, along with America's
Montrose and the Ramones just to name a few. The Towers
Of London's music gives the young kid from a working class background
inspiration to dream outside the world they come from and find satisfaction
playing music and giving audiences a rise.
At the heart of the Towers Of London's music is energy that lambastes
with un-neutered exertion. Their full length debut album Blood,
Sweat & Towers produced by Stacy Jones and Bill
Lefler is the follow up to their two EP's On A Noose and
F%@K It Up, both of which can be found on their debut disc.
The songs scream of lust, unabashed sinning, and fighting to be important
enough that everything they desire is given to them. The lyrical content
is personal, shrouded in private meaning that someone outside of the
situation doesn't know the details, but can relate to them like in
the song "On A Noose.": "I'm on a noose and I never
even tried/ Don't know the route but I know I gotta ride/ I'm on the
run, this is my creator."
The opening track sets the mood with sirens blaring and catatonic
guitar work revving up the sonic charges. "Air Guitar" has
an AC/DC punch with fast acting chord jumps comparable to The Darkness.
Like The Darkness, which has the Hawkins brothers, Towers Of
London comes with two brothers as well - Donny Tourette on
lead vocals and Dirk Tourette on guitar. Rounding out the band
are The Rev on guitar, Tommy Brunette on bass guitar,
and Snell on drums.
The guitars are loud and flashy, the drum tantrums are tumultuous,
hosing across the progressions, the vocal blades pucker and hurl,
while the bass depressions dash and cement the transitions. The stocky
drum rolls and the pancaked layers of bellowing guitars on "Beaujolais"
have a bower of AC/DC lust. Flipping over to a more folk/pop orientation
on the acoustic version of "F%@k It Up" provides a sizable
amount of vocal harmony. The instrument segments crash, burn, stomp,
and slam creating super sonic trips and torrent motions. The guitar
streaks on "Northern Lights" are ambitious, the racing lines
on "I Lose It" are inspiring, and the whirlwind whoops on
"How Rude She Was" are challenging.
The spinning motions raise the roof as the vocal puckers squeeze
and release. The music phrases are extroverted, inflating and exhaling
with fullness. The album concludes with a simple Good-bye from the
band. No grandiose expulsion of guitars, just a child-like farewell.
Towers Of London's raw edges are relatable to the Arctic Monkeys
and their tufts of bristling obliques are liken to the underground
movement emerging in England from Sheffield's rockers In The Name
Of and Leigh's homegrown Stolen Thunder. More British invasion
on the horizon could be possible, but nowadays, everyone is in rock
'n' roll together.
-Susan Frances
Track listing:
1. I Am A Rat
2. Air Guitar
3. Kill The Pop Scene
4. Beaujolais
5. F%@K It Up (Acoustic)
6. King
7. Good Times
8. On A Noose
9. Start Believing
10. Northern Lights
11. I Lose It
12. F%@K It Up (Electric)
13. How Rude She Was
14. Son Of A Preacher
15. Seen It All
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