Album, Single and EP Reviews


 

 

  Straight to the Heart by Pierced Arrows


Straight to the Heart cover art

Artist: Pierced Arrows
Title: Straight to the Heart
Catalogue Number: Tombstone Records
Review Format: CD
Release Year: 2008



ou may well be familiar with a band called Dead Moon. Then again you might not be. For your information, they spent something like 20 years knocking out slabs - vinyl is the thing, you see - of a seriously unpolished blend of garage and punk. Having built up a dedicated cult following, they did not stay quiet for long after they disbanded. Fred Cole and Toody joined forces with drummer Kelly Halliburton and became the Pierced Arrows.

Sonically, it is business as usual. This is the music to accompany excessive beer consumption and bar brawls. In fact, it didn't seem right to even attempt a review during daylight hours. So the Bluesbunny diligently waited for darkness to fall and cranked the volume right up.

There is no fancy stuff on show here. In fact, what is on show is honesty. No hiding behind harmonisers here. Songs like "Frankenstein" or "Caroline" could have come from some time in a past stuck somewhere between angry 60's psych-rock and early punk. "In My Brain" has all the heavyweight riffs and distracted lyrics to make it attractive to fans of a metal band. Neil Young's "Mr Soul" gets a well deserved beating too, by the way. "Up on a Cloud" was the best track in our less than humble opinion being a potent mix of Irish and rock influences.

This album is a simple and straightforward collection of songs that work pretty damn well. "Up on a Cloud" stands out but there is plenty here to keep both fans of Dead Moon and newcomers happy. It sounds real and that is getting to be a bit of a rarity these days.


www.piercedarrows.com
Reviewer:
Review Date: June 16 2008