Band : Grifter
Album Title : The Simplicity Of The Riff Is Key
Label : Catacomb Records
Distributor : /
Release Date : October 2009
Review : CDEP

After one 5-track CDEP High Unholy Mighty Rollin’  Plymouth, UK based heavy rock’n’ roll outfit Grifter are back, this time with their second 4-track CDEP titled The Simplicity Of The Riff Is Key. Ringing harmonies, hook-heavy riffs and driving rhythms. Ollie isn't exactly what I would call a dynamic vocalist, but his rough but not brutal vox are perfect for the album. As a guitar player, Ollie displays good sense of melody and his guitar soloing just scream class and skill. The riffs are simple and the rhythms straight forward, though slightly busy under the surface, with Clutch-like vocal arrangements layed on top. If you listen to bands like The Answer, AC/DC, Zeppelin, Karma To Burn or even The Atomic Bitchwax you'll certainly have no problem with this. The boogie riffs are there, and so is the AC/DC/ZZ-Top grooviness, wrapped in a solid production. delivered with ferocious energy, sloppy but tight, totally in your face and stinking of beer, cigs and sweat. Musically this is pretty basic stuff but there are hints here and there that these guys have more chops than they're letting on.

The music is not the most original thing in the world, but the enjoy ability factor more than makes up for that. Grifter are just plain out there and rocking it with nothing but good times. More information can be found at their web-site http://www.myspace.com/grifterrock

Cosmicmasseur.