Gin Lady: Gin Lady (2012)

Swedish band GIN LADY was formed in early 2011, around the same time that the majority of the members of this new band were free of obligations as their former band Black Bonzo decided to take a break. As some sort of sister/companion/successor unit of this well established act, Gin Lady will be and have been sought out by fans of this act, and I suspect the majority of them will have been pleased with what they have encountered on Gin Lady's initial effort, released by Swedish label Transubstans Records in the late spring of 2012.

Like Black Bonzo, Gin Lady is a band that merits the description retro-oriented. The 1970's are at the heart of the proceedings both in terms of likely influences and overall stylistic expression, just about the only component of this production that merits a description as temporary will be the year printed next to the copyright logo. This is music that could have been and probably should have been released 40 years ago in a perfect world. Give these guys a time machine back to 1972 and they would have established themselves as superstars, headlining alongside bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.

While the aforementioned bands are stated influences, and the latter of these in particular is easy to track the influence of due to the massive use of organs throughout, Gin Lady is a band that know their 70's hard rock, and most likely with a much deeper knowledge about this period than any of the hacks who write about their material. And they blend and assemble their inspirations and influences in a manner that hardly ever comes close to being a blatant attempt at sounding like any specific band. On tracks like Lend Me a hand and the massive monster of Hold On southern rock and bands like Molly Hatchett and Allman Brothers comes to mind for instance, but the former has just as much a foundation in heavy psychedelic rock 70's style while the latter ticks off quite a few Deep Purple nods along the way as well, in particular on the brilliant midsection. Purple and Zeppelin are perfectly blended on the energetic and brilliant Confrontation Shakedown, while a piece like Bloodsuckin' Babies brings in Blue Oyster Cult and Alice Cooper to the table alongside the Jon Lord inspired antics. To name but a few comparisons that can be made. Aficionados of 1970's rock and hard rock will have a field day with this album on tracking down likely sources of inspiration alone.

The most important fact about Gin Lady is that they are a band good at doing what they do however. They have a brilliant lead vocalist that can carry songs all by himself, a versatile keyboardist just as good at massive organ motifs as the gentler details, and generally all around instrumentalists of a better than average competence having a go at well planned and well developed compositions. High quality all around in other words, up to and including mix and production. Not a band that will ever be regarded as someone expanding the boundaries of known music, but most certainly masters of the art of creating hard rock the way it was done in the 1970's. And as such a highly recommended band for those who love and enjoy their Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult and artists of a similar vein who were active way back when.

My rating: 93/100
Track list:
1. Rebirth
2. Get It On
3. Lend Me a Hand
4. Deja Vu
5. The Rest
6. Bloodsuckin' Babies
7. Bottom of the Sea
8. Confrontation Shakedown
9. Hold On