The L.A. Maybe – Dirty Damn Tricks
Release Date: 26th March 2021
Label: Independent
Pre-Order
Genre: Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Rock n’ Roll.
FFO: Dirty Honey, Joyous Wolf, South of Eden, Tesla, Kix, Poison.
Review By: Paul Franklin
There can’t be many bands who can say that their singer has auditioned for AC/DC.
That is the situation Alvi Robinson found himself in back in 2016 when the Aussie legends were looking around for a replacement for Brian Johnson. After missing out (to a certain Mr Rose), he found himself a bit disillusioned with the music scene and got on with the day job. Then, quite ironically given who he lost the AC/DC gig to, he was asked to front a GNR tribute band. Not long after donning the ginger wig he was contacted by The L.A. Maybe’s guitarist Dallas Dwight and asked to join them for some jam sessions. The success of these led to him joining the band and finding himself in the studio laying down vocal tracks. That now brings us up to date, with the band set to release a full album of original material.
First line of the first track Mr Danger and instantly you understand why Robinson nearly landed the ‘DC gig! That powerfully distinctive wailing tone proves he would have been equally at home with songs from the reigns of both Bon and Brian. The track itself reinforcing the comparison by being underpinned by a Young brothers signature simple, choppy riff.
That’s not to say that rest of album sounds like an AC/DC tribute. The next track, Sucker Punch, is a highlight, a high-energy rocker with a relentless driving groove and an obscenely catchy chorus. With it The L.A. Maybe plant their flag firmly and proudly in the New Wave of Classic Rock camp, and it’s from here that the rest of the album plays out.
With huge choruses, soaring vocal harmonies, ripping solos and hooks that embed themselves deep, the band have created a time machine back to heyday of late 80’s/early 90’s classic rock, but one that had been fitted with a modern quality filter that eliminates the crap, just leaving all the cool stuff. The obvious influences are the likes of Guns N’ Roses and Van Halen, but it’s so easy to hear so many similarities to other bands/albums of the time, one that kept coming back to me was Hot Wire by Kix – especially on the sleazy swagger of She’s Reckless.
Showcasing that they’re not all about the high energy rockers, Peace Of Mind is a mid-paced number inflected with a country twang, which is then followed by When I’m Gone, which if you googled the phrase ‘Southern Rock Power Ballad’ should be the first entry (and probably the second and third as well!)
Upon repeated listens to Dirty Damn Tricks the final rating that appears below this review has changed more than once, because do you know what, whilst it might not be ‘new’, or ‘original’, it’s a bloody good rock n’ roll record that brings a smile to your face and a tap to your foot. To make such an album there is a need to understand how much muscle there is in credible classic rock – and there’s no maybe about it… The L.A. Maybe just get it!
(4 / 5)
