Electric Sister – The Lost Art of Rock & Roll

Take a moment to travel back a couple of decades.  To a time when songs not only revolved around their title, but also tended to contain its very words in their choruses.  Such was a time when bands didn’t take a complete left-field or “wittier than thou” approach to giving name to the essence of their songs.  This was when big, catchy choruses and guitar leads drenched in energy and booze flourished and, ultimately, reigned supreme.  Electric Sister has no problem recalling such a time in the rock world.  Their music directly hearkens back to it, and, on their debut, The Lost Art of Rock & Roll, they show that such a simple, straightforward approach makes for some of the best damn rock and roll.

The music on The Lost Art of Rock & Roll is raw and firing on all primal cylinders.  When Thadeus Gonzalez yells, “Save Us” at the beginning of album opener, “New Mother Earth,” followed by some big, dirty guitar riffs you get a strong sense of the gritty unrestrained force that is Electric Sister.  ”I Want It All” follows up with more of the unrefined rough around the edges attitude that makes this band great and shows  just a touch of polish in the form of one great sing-along chorus. Another beautiful thing about Electric Sister’s simple yet effective straightforward approach is they keep the songs relatively short.  Only two pass the four minute mark(one just barely).  This fits their style perfectly.  They get in, rock hard, and get oout.

Rather than give in to musical wankery or overly repeated choruses, the band makes each part of every song really count.  The parts of the whole really stand out.  Towards the end of the album a one-two punch is delivered by “The Lost Art of Rock & Roll” and “Rock Is Religion.”  These are two of the best tracks on an album full of great songs.  The beer soaked “Rock Is Religion” is infectious as hell and presents an altar I damn sure don’t mind worshiping at.  If I were to choose just one song to introduce someone(and surely win them over) to Electric Sister that one would do the trick.

If you’re into real rock and roll and you aren’t listening to this band yet, you should be.  Whether it’s “lost” or not, Electric Sister definitely possess the art of rock.  This album is fast paced 120 proof hard rock full of tight tracks that will have you hitting repeat over and over.  There’s a sound here that few bands can grasp these days in a world of radio rock clones.  Electric Sister have produced a nice vintage sound with enough modern finesse to keep the material from seeming dated.

Rating: 8/10