Take Edmonton rockers One
Day Late. Winners of Edmonton’s 2013 “Artists to Watch”, the band has a
recently released self titled album under their belts. Recorded at the legendary
Warehouse studio in Vancouver, which is where such classic albums by the likes
of Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet and Mötley Crüe’s Dr.
Feelgood were born (to name a VERY few of the many artists that have
recorded there).
The album
starts off immediately pounding, with Get To You; a head banging cowbell
driven number. It sets the tone for the listener in terms of the album, topped
with a bluesy not over the top guitar solo that has more feeling to it than the
tasteless showy guitar solos that most guitarists seem to be over using lately.
Lead vocalist Elton Davidge doesn’t sound completely comfortable singing
this number. Thankfully this is the only time on the whole album that such can
be said.
The
album only continues its onslaught, with Smile For Me’s addicting “Hey!”
chant and its drum-driven rhythm and badass barroom vibe. Follow Me also
carries the same feel, minus the “Hey!” chants and replacing it with a Joe
Walsh-esque guitar riff.
This barroom
attitude only continues on the even faster paced Hotel Charlie, this time
adding one hell of a guitar riff over another. This is the kind of track you
blast driving down (or up) the summer highway with the windows rolled down. And
after you finish blasting that down the highway, just wait until Full
Throttle. As the title would suggest, as well as its Ignition
interlude, this song is, in somewhat of a cliché, the soundtrack to a nice fast
drive away from any such troubles you may be trying to get away from.
Crazy has a bit
of a dirty feel to it, similar to that of the early days of hair metal in the
early 80’s, before the genre became somewhat of a joke. This song, though a
hard hitter just like every other one, concentrates more on the singing than
any other song on the album. This seems to be the best song on the album to
sing along with.
The album ends with Stick
of Dynamite. I guess with a title like that the band is trying to end with
a bang. Well it is hard to not end an album such as this with a bang, and this
song is certainly no exception. After an almost apocalyptic intro, the song
starts to gallop. It begins to feel like you’re a hard rock cowboy on your
horse firing your guns in the air. It features the most melodic and musically
intelligent guitar work on the album, from the previously mentioned galloping
sound, to the relentless guitar riff heard throughout the song and it’s not one
but two melodic guitar solos.
One Day
Late’s self titled debut provides a collection of bona fide roadhouse rockers
built for the rock and roll rebel in all of us. It’s not the longest of albums,
clocking in just barely under a half an hour through nine songs (including the
interlude), but it gets straight to the point. It starts off hard and ends
harder, leaving us wanting more, as any good album should.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHT
“Here I Stand” – It was hard not to
pick Stick of Dynamite as the
highlight, but the melodies of Here I
Stand, the albums second track, make this song a must listen to any first
time listener. The song goes from starting off like a western movie soundtrack
before pounding its way in to by far the best chorus on the album. It may or
may not be the best song from the album, but it will give any first time
listener an idea of what they are in for. A live video by the band can be seen here.
FINAL RATING
7.5 (Out of 10)
Track List:
1.
|
"Get
To You"
|
3:54
|
2.
|
"Here
I Stand"
|
3:09
|
3.
|
"Smile
For Me"
|
3:32
|
4.
|
"Hotel
Charlie"
|
3:42
|
5.
|
"Ignition"
|
0:54
|
6.
|
"Full
Throttle"
|
4:00
|
7.
|
"Crazy"
|
3:33
|
8.
|
"Follow
Me"
|
3:12
|
9.
|
"Stick
of Dynamite"
|
3:41
|
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