RAW RAMP has been a devoted follower and proud supporter of ALBANY DOWN since their earliest days (2010).
So we were very pleased to be given the chance of an early listen to their fresh upcoming album “Born In The Ashes” recorded at Rockfield Studios with Greg Haver, and due out on Friday 1st September 2023.
Now the band is a power trio that comprises of founder member Paul Turley on vocals and guitars, with Pete Hancock as drummer and backing vocalist, and with bassist and backing vocalist Ben Atkins. The band has recorded four studio albums with producer Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers, INME, Super Furry Animals).
dazzling rock architecture — conscientiously intuitive
Raw Ramp Music Magazine
The album starts off with the slamming banger “Always Want What You Can’t Have” —a whomping-pulsing carbonation of chords and punchy blues rhythms that crystallize to deliver a spectacularly rewarding chorus together with lots of splendiferous starbursts of rinsing guitar. It’s a song about never being properly satisfied— and it contains impressively bold squirts of pyrotechnic guitar and a shimmering and compellingly gilded chorus.
We’ve all been pummelled by gloomy newsflashes and pessimistic reportage these last few years, so Albany Down has come to the rescue with their popping blast “Good News”. It’s loud, it’s vivacious, it has a chirpy keyboard tinkle that’s hidden in the folds, and it is enthusiastic. And that’s what we need right now: we need some heartfelt positivity to even things out!
“Same Damn Thing” ( (Official Video shared below) is a zingy and infectiously punchy outjet of subtextual dissatisfaction that expresses not just annoyance the all feel from -time-to-time at the many frustrations of modern daily life but also the (often) joyless purposelessness of our daily existence. Paul handles the futility well, with monochrome vocals that add dark texture to his conking chords. As expected, just beyond halfway through there’s a gruffish but cleverly foliated guitar solo, with luscious brass-nourished choruses. So, all-in-all, life ain’t as unrewarding as one might first suppose! Thanks, Albany Down.
“Born in the Ashes” (about rebirth & renewal) is an intellectually introspective rock anthem with more than a whiff of glam country about it (think: Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive“)— though it is slightly more questioning and ruminative in style and has that typically anguished-rueful predisposition that distinguishes blues rock artists from mainstream poppers.
The album finishes with the rubberized and grippy “Let Your Love Shine” which is an intensely beautiful crunchy love song that reminds us of the propulsive staccato-ridden compulsions found in Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer though this song is decorated with early-Aerosmith style illuminations. All-in-all, it’s a dazzling piece of rock architecture,and remains conscientiously intuitive with soulful vocals, respectable rhythms, and ultra-durable bass notes. Fabulous!
File alongside: Toys in the Attic era Aerosmith or 1984 period Bon Jovi.
The album is available to pre-order from http://shop.albanydown.com
Words: @neilmach 2023 ©
Photography by Blackham Images
RAW RAMP 