There’s something strangely alluring about classic denim and leather rock and roll. Maybe it’s the shamelessness, maybe it’s the simplicity and purity of message (“Booze! Drugs! Sex!”) in a time when music is more fragmented and pigeon-holed than ever. Whatever the reason, we should all be thankful for Mammoth Mammoth and Mount the Mountain (Napalm), the fourth album from the no-nonsense Australian rockers.

At it very simple core, Mount the Mountain is just 45 minutes’ worth of good time dirty Rock n’ Roll. It’s Motörhead meets AC/DC after a day of smoking and drinking. It celebrates all the things we love: booze, sex, and drugs. And that’s all there is to it really.

There’s no subtlety or pretence, just big hits of short, sharp noise. These guys know what they like and they do it well, so don’t expect much in the way of variation. There’s little deviation from the blueprint: three-minutes of air-guitar-worthy riffs, fist in the air shout along choruses, and headbanging solos. Sure, it gets repetitive, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

‘Hole in the Head’, ‘Sleepwalker’, ‘Hard Way Down’, and the punky ‘Wild and Dead’ are all worth your time if need to get your keg party started. If you like Airborne or the soon-to-be-defunct Black Spiders, there’s a lot to like about Mammoth Mammoth.

If you can, the bonus edition is worth getting hold of just for the cover of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’. It’s more drunken garage rehearsal fun than anything genre-bending, but it’s good for a laugh.

Everything about Mammoth Mammoth is designed to be big and entertaining, and on that front, Mount The Mountain delivers. It’s not one for deep thinking or to get lost in, this is just a balls to the wall Hard Rock record.

7.0/10
DAN SWINHOE