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22-20s '22-20s'
Given that from the moment they thought “Shall we form a band?” 22-20s were hailed as The Greatest British Rock’n’roll Saviours since The Last Ones Stiffed, you can’t blame them for their trepidation to unleash themselves fully. In the two years (well, nearly) since they signed a record deal, all that’s been released is two singles and a (rubbish) live album. You’d be forgiven, then, for thinking that the early hype hasn’t so much been eroded as pissed up a skyscraping wall.
Which is why ’22-20s’, their long-awaited studio debut, triumphs on so many levels. Bravely, the band have waited and waited to release it (and incredibly, for a major label, been allowed to wait and wait) at a time when expectation is at an absolute minimum. The way the band have been allowed to develop as a live band, following support slots with the likes of Kings Of Leon and Jet, mean this album is a lot better than it would’ve been a year ago. When they weren’t very good. Indeed, on this very website, they were compared to Kula Shaker and Gary Moore when they supported The Thrills in February. Keep in mind that being compared to Crispian Mills and his band of Taj Mahal-doting twats would be enough to kill off most bands.
Instead, ’22-20s’ is the sound of a band sounding more alive than they ever have before. ‘Devil In Me’ and ‘Such A Fool’ kickstart it into life. Both appeared on the ‘05/03’, the afore-slagged live album, but here they’re vitalised. ‘Devil In Me’ is now given to full, Beelzebub-riffing menace where it was once hollow and soulless, whilst the melancholic pound of ‘Such A Fool’ is a relentless adrenaline rush. ’22 Days’, the sound of BRMC soundtracking Around The World In 30 Seconds, is dark and devious, whilst the blues-stomp of ‘Shoot Your Gun’ is the best song here, a forceful, robotic pounding set to Martin Trimble’s heartbroken pleas.
There’s a few low points: ‘Baby Brings Bad News’ goes nowhere slowly, ‘Friends’ does what even Bob Dylan has done badly for the past twenty years and ‘Why Don’t You Do It For Me’ is sub-standard blues-rock (Gary Moore!), but, for the most part, ‘22-20s’ is an accomplished, wild-eyed lesson in rock’n’roll. And as for that skyscraping wall? They’re sitting at the top, laughing.
22-20s ’22-20s’ (Heavenly) Released September 20 2004.
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