Having whetted our appetites with the ‘70s steeped, Greenbaum boogie of recent single ‘Cherry Bomb’, rock ‘n’ roll road warriors.
The Minutes deliver their main course in the form of second album Live Well, Change Often. Three years in the making, the ten track opus features some of their best studio work to date: the trio have never sounded better, or tighter, thanks to what must feel like a life- time slogging their guts out on the road.
Former Kerbdog and Biffy Clyro producer GGGarth Richardson was at the mixing desk, and the much-loved knob twiddler makes the whole record shine: Live Well, Change Often
is packed with power and precision. Critics might argue that tracks such as ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Holy Roman Empire’ (which take their cues from Hawkwind’s ‘Silver Machine’ and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Emerald’ respectively) are merely retreading the past, but rock ‘n’ roll has always been self-referential – and there’s an energy to those efforts which make them feel fresh and new.
The acoustic-based, cello-infused ballad ‘Lo And Behold’ is a stand-out, full of emotion and melody. Meanwhile, the aforementioned ‘Cherry Bomb’ and album opener ‘Hold Your Hand’ are destined to be future pit anthems. Me? I’ll always have time for The Minutes...