Sometimes bands don’t feel the need to go off the beaten track into the unknown being happy instead to play exactly the styles that influenced them like a badge of honour. South West England’s own Grifter certainly wear their influences on their sleeves, taking cues from hard rockers ZZ Top and riff maestros like Black Sabbath and Orange Goblin, even finishing here with a cover of the former’s ‘Fairies Wear Boots’.
Such influences have been heard countless times of course and Return Of The Bearded Brethren (Ripple) shows no shred of originality whatsoever. From its tone through to subject matter there is no substance whatsoever that separates this from the countless identikit bands out there.
If you’re not going for individuality then you need write songs that knock it out of the ballpark. Again, this is where this album fails miserably. This brand of riff-based bluesy rock should fill you with adrenaline and give you a craving for whisky, but Grifter don’t even manage to get your foot to tap a little. The riffs are samey and bland whilst the vocals lack any form of swagger and command that such music requires.
Many a band has gone for the route of familiarity and made such sounds their own by being truly killer. ROTBB instead makes Grifter sound like a glorified pub band playing every week at your dingy local.
3.0/10.0
CHRIS TIPPELL