Electric Mary: III

Hailing from Melbourne Australia, it is maybe no surprise that Electric Mary have a real down and dirty aspect to their sound, with a strong barroom boogie element being in evidence. Thankfully though these Electric lads are no AC/DC clones, with a heavier attack and more melodic outlook making their sound land somewhere between DC, Rose Tattoo and something as melodic and mainstream as Damn Yankees.

The more astute of you will have realised that III is the third effort from this rabble of bluesy riff mongrels, following on as it does from 2004's "Four Hands Down" and 2008's excellent "Down To The Bone". I haven't heard the band's debut effort, however "DTTB" was a grooving delight of machine-gun drums, bourbon soaked vocals and dirty, dirty, dirty riffs and I'm glad to say that III continues in the same vein. Bandleader and vocalist Rusty Brown spits out aggressive, lived in vocals, but in a way that actually marks him out as a singer, rather than a shouter and when he is fronting the mighty riffs and catchy hooks which Electric Mary seem to produce at will, he really is a fine howler indeed.

Bursting into life with the Clutch like riff of "O.I.C." Electric Mary immediately set their stall out with huge slab of guitars, with the fuzzed up attack being the perfect foil for the gang backing vocals and Rusty's enigmatic hollers. A bluesy swagger comes to light in the shape of "Bone On Bone" and "Waiting", while "Long Time Coming" punches home with an urgency and viciousness that keeps you gripped from start to finish. Not afraid to step out of the expected, "Lies" and "American Jam" add a spacey quality to the vocals, offering a sharp contrast to the brutal guitar bursts, throbbing bass and powering drums, while "So Cruel" dips a toe into Stoner territory.

Already one of the more promising bands to have hit the scene in the last few years, III keeps up Electric Mary's high standards and is an album that deserves to see them make the next step into the big boys playground.

Track Listing
1. O.I.C.
2. Stained
3. So Cruel
4. Long Time Coming
5. All Eyes On Me
6. Lies
7. Nobody's Perfect
8. Bone On Bone
9. Waiting
10. American Jam

Added: December 26th 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Electric Mary online
Hits: 1741
Language: english

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