Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Liverpool has its Beatles, Seattle – the memory of Nirvana, Birmingham is proud of Jeff Lynne and Black Sabbath, London the class of The Who and Iron Maiden, all considered the music equivalent of royalty, the crowned heads of Rock to whom servitude or the doffing of caps is thankfully not required to enjoy their takes on the world, and yet there seems to be something otherworldly about Los Angeles that is steeped in the mysticism, a sense of the Pacific Ocean air offering magic, that has seen its city’s limits simply overflow with the Renegades of regal spiritualty and the holiness of noble style.
Most of us will never experience the Sunset Strip, will never bask in the surrealness of Melrose Avenue of Santa Monica Boulevard, the tensions of Hollywood, the sheer thrill of seeing monuments to the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Belinda Carlisle or The Doors’ John Densmore and Robby Krieger, experiencing the places where they gained inspiration for their legendary status to flourish. However, we have all pretty much undergone the involvement of getting to grips with the city of night as voyeurs, as Renegades ourselves, from a distance, and it is to that close at hand familiarity to which L.A. Guns have formed the basis of the listener’s love to which others happily proclaim their citizenship and attachment to.
There may be other bands, and there certainly plenty in which to choose from, that have an equal, if not greater, to be synonymous with the sunset over the western seaboard and the power, that pull of mystic apparition, but in L.A. Guns, no matter which version currently finds itself part of the listener’s fantasy, there is perhaps no other that has done more to exemplify the encompassing scene, belief and outward love for the area.
To take a trip in this fast moving vehicle as draws admirers from the walkway and has people removing their sunglasses to take a closer look is to understand just how good the new album by the band is, and as Renegades pounds its way through tracks such as All That You Are, Witchcraft, You Can’t Walk Away, Well Oiled Machine and Crawl, what is displayed for all to see is more than mere accomplishment, it is a declaration of rebellion made clear, that the armoury is well-stocked, the musical war is certainly engaged and to be won.
From start to finish this album blisters the ears of the non-believers and soothes the ache and longing in the advocates of the beautifully rebellious. Renegades is amongst the finest that Rock has to offer in 2020; the turncoats may run and hide, cower in their soft-walled bunkers, but L.A. Guns will find them, and turn the minds to the glowing positive drama that Renegades supplies.
L.A. Guns release Renegades on 13th November on Golden Robot Records. Ian D. Hall