Backyard Babies - 4our x 4our

Celebrating 28 years in the business, sleaze-rock mavens Backyard Babies deliver their defining moment, combining metal, punk, blues and pop to take a maligned sub-genre to a new high. This doesn’t break new ground but there is a swagger and a sense of mischief throughout. The songs are so immediate that I was shouting along and waving the devil horns after one listen but, surprisingly, there is enough breadth and variety to reward repeated listening. Single and opener Th1rt3en or Nothing starts with a funky riff worthy of Chic before breaking into classic hard rock. I'm On My Way To Save Your Rock 'n' Roll could be Blink-182 covering P!nk’s Bad Day. Bloody Tears is Whitesnake's Here I Go Again with power-chords replacing David Coverdale's bullshit. Closer Walls is the stand-out. Starting out like Dead Kennedys' queasy-listening film-noir classic The Prey, it progresses through a glam stomp to a doom metal climax that riffs harder than Metallica and would scare prime Sabbath. At other times 4our x 4our brings to mind QOTSA, the Foos, Green Day, Led Zep, Wheatus, and classic Gn'R (before Axl disappeared up his own jacksy) but the band's own identity always shines through. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting something this good but it is nigh on perfect on a summer’s day.

9/10

Released 28.08.15 Backyard Babies // 4our x 4our Billion Dollar Babies/Sony

Celebrating 28 years in the business, sleeze-rock mavens Backyard Babies deliver their defining moment, combining metal, punk, blues and pop to take a maligned sub-genre to a new high.

This doesn’t break new ground but there is a swagger and a sense of mischief throughout.