Bullet Proof Lovers “Shot Through The Heart”

We’ve previously reviewed this band last EP and absolutely loved it. SO we were really looking forward to this full release. Of course, the move from EPs to albums does always beg the question, can they keep it up?!

Any potential fears are immediately blown away with the awesome opening track, “I Am My Radio”. A song which contains all the ingredients you require for a rock n roll song; crunching guitars (presumably played low slung), a big melody and a catchy chorus. The thing that the Bullet Proof Lovers really deliver on songs like “Heart Of Stone” and “Knock Down The Door” is that sense of fun, excitement and the all important touch of debauchery. Life’s tough enough and music like this is meant to be an escape.

On numbers like “Aint No Joke” and “Not Your Toy”, they show that they’re capable of delivering hard riffs and punchy songs. But they still play them with a swagger and a sense of panache. Those factors suggest that they have spent as much time listening to the likes of the New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks as The Ramones or The Replacements.

In total contrast, they also know how to knock out the perfect power pop of “One Late Night”. It’s a great pop/rock number which you’d just love to hear playing on the radio (we can dream!). It’s as catchy as hell and totally irresistible. There’s a similar tone on “Drive It Outta Control” but they’re just not able to resist turning the guitars up a bit more on that one. So it’s slightly rockier but equally as appealing.

Those songs may suggest a more ‘wholesome’ side to the band but, let’s be honest, this is really a gutter rock band (as all good rock n roll bands should be).

There’s a sleazy rock n roll feel to songs like “Cant Let It Go” and the anthemic “All I Want”. These tracks can’t help but remind us of the good old days when every week there’d be a great new band hitting the sunset strip. Although, even in those hey days, there were very few bands actually capable of producing songs as good as the brilliant “Take It or Leave it”.

Every now and again a band appears that we hope is going to inspire a sleaze rock revival. We’ve had a few false dawns with some brilliant bands like The Star Spangles or more recently The Ming City Rockers but it’s never quite takes off. Let’s hope the Bullet Proof Lovers can put that right. How good is this release? Well, it’s probably our favourite release on the awesome Rumbar records label. Take it from us, given their brilliant roster of bands, that’s one hell of an achievement!