The Amorettes “White Hot Heat”

Somewhat unusually, we are a bit late on the up take with reviewing this album by The Amorettes. But having heard one of their tracks and being totally grabbed by the hard rocking sound we knew we had to check out their album.

Opening number “Batter Up” is everything you’d want in a rock song – passionate, hard, melodic and in your face. It’s a combination they successfully combine on songs like “Roll” and “White Russian Roulette”. They take their cues from classic rock of AC/DC with the added kick of some Ramone’s esque punk. Their kick ass attitude is perfectly reflected in “Let the Neighbours Call The Cops”, a song which actually reminds us of when Skid Row first hit the scene with their brattish rock sound.

Whilst subtlety may not be high on the Amorettes’ agenda, that’s not to say they’re not without a few surprises. For a start, they know a good melody when they hear it. Songs like “Come ‘N’ Get It” and the brilliant “Crusader” would’ve been tearing up MTV’s Head Bangers Ball back in the day.

Tracks like “Eyes On The Prize” and “Pervert Alert” are just great, sleazy, rock n roll songs. There’s a sense of dirt and grime that bands like Backyard Babies or Guns N Roses used to deliver. Those of us of a certain age and music background will hear a song like “Man Meat” and be instantly transferred back to Rock City and nights of drinking Newcastle Brown Ale.

There’s no denying that there is a classic or retro rock feel to this album. That’s not a negative though, in fact, it says something about how poor the current rock scene is. There just aren’t enough bands around creating this type of sound. The Amorettes have classic rock songs which are fun and have no sense of pretention about them. This is Friday night grab a beer and rock music…something that can’t be beat!