Review: Emma Whitelaw
IT'S raw, it’s gritty and it’s lyrically brilliant.
This is the sort of album you just have to play loud!
You have heard of Franz Ferdinand,
you’ve heard of Keane
and you’re guaranteed to hear of 22-20’s.
Formed three years ago and named after the Delta bluesman, Skip
James’ piano-led '22-20 Blues', this is a group that, from
the start, was reading from its own fairly eccentric map.
Having grown up in admiration of the blues records brought round
by his uncle at Christmas, the band’s 21-year-old singer/songwriter/
guitarist, Martin Trimble, and fellow band member, Glen, had played
for several years on the domestic and European blues scene.
Their self-titled debut is both intense and incredibly versatile,
a quality which is somewhat lacking in most rock outfits nowadays.
From the jarring squall of their dirty fuzz guitars to the massive
drum sound in opener, Devil In Me, it's clear they’ve
taken blues to a new level, and boy do these lads from Lincoln
know how to rock!
Their songs, like Such A Fool, contain such ferocity
that it moved NME to declare, ‘The 22-20s are unquestionably
the most exciting rock 'n' roll rumble since the Gallaghers’.
The heavier, darker songs, like Shoot Your Gun and 22
Days are juxtaposed against slower, less temple-pounding
acoustic tracks like Friends and Baby Brings Bad
News, showing the band have a depth of musical knowledge
well beyond their years.
Sometimes reminiscent of The White Stripes, at other times, Sonic
Youth (in their quieter moments, of course) the diversity within
22-20’s writing is incredible and is the reason why this
album can be played on repeat over and over.
This is one you will never be bored of and one you simply must
get your hands on!
1. Devil In Me
2. Such A Fool
3. Baby Brings Bad News
4. 22 Days
6. Why Don’t You Do It For Me?
7. Shoot Your Gun
8. The Things That Lovers Do
9. I’m The One
10. Hold On