There’s a hoary old rock n roll cliché about “notoriously difficult second albums”. You’re already familiar with it. Band makes decent debut. Becomes popular. Drinks or snorts their advance. Makes lazy follow up. Career blown. On The Killer Instinct (Nuclear Blast) the second album from Black Star Riders, the post Thin Lizzy band of rock ‘n’ roll troubadours, the notion of difficult second album is not so much challenged as it is kicked to the ground with disdain. The Killer Instinct is ten tracks of solid, top drawer, feisty rock ‘n’ roll. It’s craftier than a cask of well brewed beer; it is the aural equivalent of a night on the town with your mates just after pay day. It’s absolute class.
Kicking off in glorious, swaggering style with the title track, it is rock business as usual for Ricky Warwick and co. Black Star Riders have a knack of finding a groove and melody with something approaching effortless ease. ‘Bullet Blues’ is even better: a carousing, hustling number, primed and ready for the storming of the barn. ‘Finest Hour’ is an absurdly catchy singalong that will doubtless become a solid addition to the encore part of their live setlist.
It doesn’t let up for a second. The celtic sounds that underscore ‘Soldierstown’ are welcome and infectious while ‘Charlie I Gotta Go’ feels ridiculously familiar even on first listen, a sure sign of supreme song-writing craftsmanship. And, you know what? It’s ALL like this, all the way through. Riffs and choruses are strewn about like confetti at a wedding; it’s not that they don’t care, rather the contrary; you get the sense that they are hitting a creative stride, a purple haze patch, if you will.
This might sound like an odd thing to say but Black Star Riders are an immensely likeable band. There are no airs and graces, no top lip curling arrogance, no I-will-not-tidy-my-bedroom tantrums. It’s not that they are too old for this sort of stuff (they self-evidently are) but actually they understand that the relationship between band and audience is one that should be fostered and never taken for granted. The Killer Instinct is an effortless slice of rock n roll abandon. At the end of the day, the thing about Black Star Riders is they still believe in the fable of being the Last Gang in Town; it’s a gang you want to join too.
Absolute class.
8.0/10
MAT DAVIES