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Little Johnny Walker

The First Album

Written by: PP on 22/02/2015 03:34:14

Some ideas sound cool on paper, less so in real life. Esbjerg, Denmark based Little Johnny Walker basically decided that they wanted to sound like on record like they sound live, so they opted to record their debut full-length "The First Album" in one take. Seldom a good idea, because there's a huge difference in detail when you're listening to the record on a good pair of headphones versus standing in front of a stage in a live venue. Whilst the result is decent, the fact that you can occasionally hear a guitar pick strumming against the strings in the quieter parts of their sound is something that should've been filtered out by production, no question.

Sound wise, the band fall squarely within the classic rock'n'roll / blues rock mould. Some songs draw extensively from AC/DC style basic rock'n'roll - see opener "Point At The Mirror" or the groove-laden "You Got Time" - whereas others look more into the same direction as like-minded blues rock bands as The Black Keys. Rest fall somewhere in between the two expressions. The heart is in the right place - let's explore the soul and roots of rock'n'roll thoroughly - which results in an authentic soundscape overall. However, the results is not. While it's not possible to pick apart "The First Album" in terms of technical aspects, the songwriting is lackluster and doesn't leave an impression behind where the listener should care about what they are listening to.

The reason for that is simple. Classic rock / blues rock is such a crowded genre these days that any random person on a street will have heard a couple of releases within the genre this year alone, more so if you're a music enthusiast. To stand out from the grey mass, you'll simply need to have better songs. Here, Little Johnny Walker don't convince us that is the case over the course of an entire album. Generic rock - nothingsaying melodies - lacking of charisma and catchy melodies? That's a fitting summary for "The First Album". With better production, they might have been able to hone some melodies, but in the end, it's the underlying songs that matter.

Download: Point At The Mirror, My Sin, You Got Time
For the fans of: AC/DC, Whores & Thieves, The Black Keys, Gonzo Morales
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Release date 02.02.2015
Trechoma Records