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BUCKCHERRY
Rock ‘N’ Roll

F-Bomb (2015)
Rating: 9/10

After the riotous Fuck EP (2014), I was once again left gagging for another dose of Buckcherry; one of the only modern rock ’n’ roll bands I can actually tolerate. Indeed, of all the contemporary rock bands I’ve loved, Buckcherry remains one of the only ones still intact; Brides Of Destruction, Young Heart Attack and Beautiful Creatures all fizzling out to make way for the tepid strains of Sixx A.M. and the like.

Downright raw, raucous rebellion seems to be the one ingredient missing from the current scene, with countless bands eager to ape the past but bereft of energy, passion and attitude. And so it’s always good to get slapped round the face by another Buckcherry record, Rock ‘N’ Roll being the seventh full-length chapter in this band’s well-inked and sweaty career.

If ever there’s a band that can serve up an air of familiarity and get away with it, then it’s this Californian troupe. You know that Josh Todd’s voice is going to shred the ears, and you know that the twin guitar attack of Keith Nelson and Stevie D. are going to be equally sleazy, but Buckcherry has that ability to churn out fiery, fizzing and above all solid rock ’n’ roll – something sorely missing in a world of pretenders.

And so with ‘Bring It On Back’ Buckcherry introduces its new composition, but instead of immediately going for the throat, they grind slow, deep and hard. ‘Bring It On Back’ is akin to entering a strip club bathed in red lights where the girls are slowly swirling and jigging. The riff is slow and heavy, the drums nod with edginess and as a whole the band are prowling like a caged animal awaiting to burst from its shackles as Josh Todd tells us “I know the outcome, I’ll be the first one at the end”. And he’s right, because it doesn’t matter what straight down the line, balls to the wall rock ’n’ roll formula Buckcherry comes up with, we’ll always be by their side like a salivating customer returning to his favourite lap-dancer. ‘Bring It On Back’ has a sprawling, anthemic chorus built upon a foundation of Kelly LeMieux’s bass, Xavier Muriel’s hammering percussion and the other tried-and-tested ingredients which so many bands would kill for.

Of course, there will always be those – including myself – gagging for the days when ‘Crazy Bitch’ (from 2005’s 15) had us partying until the cows came home, but the quintet must have known what we were thinking because ‘Tight Pants’ just happens to be the sequel to ‘Crazy Bitch’. Strewn with horns it’s a funked-up, soulful and above all danceable tune which will no doubt come accompanied by a controversial video, because when Todd barks, “I like the way that you bust at the seams when you wiggle that thing”, one can only envisage some curvaceous female soul cavorting to the latest Buckcherry classic.

For me, this is a band whose spirit and energy epitomises everything rock ’n’ roll should be about. Brimming with cheekiness, sexuality, arrogance and of course attitude, Todd and company inject all of these qualities into a batch of excellent rock songs. With ‘Tight Pants’ there’s almost a hint of Aerosmith with extra balls, and yet with ‘Wish To Carry On’ we find the band emotionally abrasive; again offering up a sprawling sound of pensive percussion and aching guitar harmonies.

There’s no contemporary band better than Buckcherry at marrying soulful and hard-edged rock, and nowhere is this more apparent than with the sublime ‘The Feeling Never Dies’; an aching, melancholic semi-ballad where Todd’s usual bark is replaced by a sensitive, hurting baying. The music is simple; reflective with that hint of organ and nodding drum. Todd wears his heart on his sleeve – it’s paraded along with the many tattoos – but such is the sincerity of the songwriting and musicianship that even when the band becomes reflective it’s still edgy and simmering, and this of course just prepares us for another slab of sleaze.

However, the mid-section of the opus decides to keep us waiting because ‘Cradle’ is another brooding number which builds slowly and is threaded by a killer lead. Todd’s vocals are raspier than ever before, leaving one to wonder how his throat can stand the strain. But there’s no respite for the mercurial frontman as the straight up rocker ‘The Madness’ struts with the confidence we’ve come to expect from the band. Meanwhile, the more subtle ‘Wood’ is like a calmer sister to ‘Tight Pants’ but as equally sexual as Todd rasps, “You’re giving me wood, I really hope you’re in the mood”; and as always with Buckcherry we’re always in the mood.

The combo whips us up into frenzy with the stomping ‘Sex Appeal’, which follows the gorgeous shuffle of the bluesy ‘Rain’s Falling’. And with the cascading riff and solo of ‘Get With It’ stirring us once again, Buckcherry brings us to the sort of climax we just don’t get off any other musical partner.

It sure is only rock ’n’ roll… but we like it, like it, yes, we do.

Neil Arnold