Rews “Pyro”

Post the explosion of The White Stripes and then more recently Royal Blood we got a bit tired of rock duos. There was just so many of them churning out the same kind of sound. Against that background, the question was whether Rews’ “Pyro” could fire us up.

It’s probably worth starting up with the fact that there are actually many songs on this album that could well appeal to Royal Blood fans. Certainly opener “Let It Roll” is a pulsating and driven rock song. The same could be said of “Violin” and “Shine” which are hard hitting but still melodic tunes.

However, as early as second song “Rip Up My Heart” there are signs that Rews can offer a little bit more. It’s still rocking but sonically it’s just more modern and alternative sounding. The band actually seems to grow as the album goes on. In fact, it’s when they ease off the harder rock sound and allow the melody to breath that they really shine. That’s demonstrated by the sparser but almost pop feel of the brilliant “Death Yawn”. Together with the even more pure pop of “Your Tears”, these are the songs you could see getting heavy radio and TV play. That could then really expose the band to a potentially huge fan base.

There is also a great willingness to bring an alternative structure to their sound. It allows songs like “We Explode” to have a far more ‘current’ sound than many of the more mundane indie rock bands that are around at the moment. The album actually hits a real peak with the infectious and appealing “Shake Shake”.  A song which has the potential for mass appeal and you could see being a huge festival favourite.

This is a mighty impressive album from Rews. It builds from a solid indie/alternative base before delivering a lot more. They’re not the first band to deliver a surprisingly big sound for just a duo. But they do deliver it with a little more style and a lot more excitement than many of their contemporaries. It’s a fine slab of indie rock and leaves you with the feeling that big things could easily be on the horizon for Rews.