‘Fizzing with freshness’ - BBC
‘Sunkissed psychedelia and irresistible hooks, with the band’s soul, funk and blues influences thrust joyously to the fore... If you thrilled to the Black Keys’ El Camino, it’s time to meet your new favourite band ‘- Guardian
Released in June 2014 via Earache Records, Great Western Valkyrie puts Rival Sons freewheeling fuzz and improvisational stage ethos to wax and cements their position as America’s next great rock’n’roll band. With a ‘conscious decision for this band to be just what it is’ (Jay Buchanan) this album is more cohesive than any Rival Sons album before.
From the beach cities of Southern California, the time was ripe for Rival Sons. Guitarist Scott Holiday had long been searching for something that would fit his psychedelic vision and fuzzy garage rock tones, then things fell into place when blues singer/songwriter Jay Buchanan put the solo career on the backburner and gave rock ‘n’ roll a chance. Scott Holiday: ‘a random find on the Internet points me to Jay Buchanan. In 13 seconds I realize I have just come across the singer I've looked for over the last 10-12 years of my life.’
Jay was invited to record vocals on the band’s debut release ‘Before the fire’ ‘Singing On My Way in a single take. We never even ran tape a 2nd time. That was a first to witness for me. And so it was born... Rival Sons.’
Four albums on, with an ever-growing fan base the band go from strength to strength and have never looked back.
Emerging from a scene where over-production was commonplace, writing and recording in a hotbox of activity without prior discussion or preparation came to be what Rival Sons is about. ‘We have a reputation for recording our albums very quickly and keeping things very live - off the floor.’
As Holiday puts it after recording Before The Fire: ‘This is just the simplest way to not cheat ourselves or the listener. Rock and Roll can’t be over-thought, and if it is, it loses its immediacy and instinct … it needs to be a knife fight, not a choreographed knife dance’
Jay Buchanan (vocals)
Scott Holiday (guitar)
Michael Miley (drums)
Dave Beste (bass)
