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BUCKCHERRY
Confessions

Eleven Seven Music (2013)
Rating: 8.5/10

“You say I drink too much, you say I fuck too much, so what the hell am I supposed to do?” barks well-inked frontman Josh Todd, and once again we’re back on that rebellious rollercoaster that we’ve come to know and love as Buckcherry.

These Californian rockers have hit 2013 with their sixth opus, entitled Confessions, and as expected it’s another orgy of sweat, swagger and sordid behaviour that kicks in with the anthemic and riotous lead single ‘Gluttony’ (accompanied by a wicked video) that, as all singles should, bites hard and then leaves you gagging for more.

‘Gluttony’ is typical Buckcherry, from Keith Nelson’s struttin’ leads, which are somewhere between Billy Duffy (The Cult), Joe Perry (Aerosmith) and Angus Young (AC/DC) to that soulful Josh Todd guttural grate. If there’s one thing Buckcherry can’t be accused of its lacking attitude, and ‘Gluttony’ has it all, from its venomous vocal sneer, to that infectious “Who-oh-oh-oh” chorus accompaniment as Todd snarls, “I want it, I want, I want it, I need it, I need it, I need it, I love it, I love it, I love it”.

Like so many albums before, Buckcherry always go for the throat from the start, but sadly their last two records – Black Butterfly (2008) and All Night Long (2010) – lacked a consistency despite kicking hard from the outset, and not since the 2006 minor classic 15 have they maintained a devilish charm throughout. However, Confessions succeeds where All Night Long at times failed. This time around the band seem to have a darker underbelly, and keen to cement their place in rock ’n’ roll history, chomping at the bit with the rebel yell of ‘Wrath’ with its grunge-tinged chorus which rises from the angst.

But it’s when the band takes a breather that they shine brighter than any other. ‘The Truth’ is Josh Todd at his most heartfelt and subtle, with his vocals floating in on a dreamy ballad-esque style sway. Xavier Muriel’s drums are breezy, and Jimmy “Two Fingers” Ashhurt’s bass bubbles below the surface as a tambourine shimmers throughout. Not since some of 15’s classic ballads have Buckcherry sounded so tight and mighty.

The sombre piano-lead ‘Sloth’ is equally stirring, and it’s the sort of track Aerosmith haven’t written since the early days. But it’s album closer ‘Dreamin’ Of You’ that really tugs at the heartstrings, and is probably one of my favourite rock songs this century. It wafts in with Josh Todd’s broken rasp and a delicate backbone of acoustic guitar and light percussion, beautiful in every way.

Elsewhere of course we are treated to the kick-like-a-mule Buckcherry sound we’ve all become accustomed to, whether in the form of the sombre gallop of ‘Greed’, with its steady drum clomp, and the almost rainy sway of ‘Water’, or rock‘n’roll bluster of ‘Lust’ and the bluesy narrative of ‘Pride’, where Todd becomes narrator with his choppy raps, that leads us to another of those distinctive choruses. Either way, it’s Buckcherry as we know them but of varying shades.

14 tracks in all and something for everyone, whether you be rocker, rebel or romantic, and not a filler in sight. This is the Buckcherry album I’ve wanted since the enigmatic 15, a veritable feast of the nefarious and the necessary.

Neil Arnold