Swedish band GIN LADY was formed in 2011, following the demise of retro progressive rock band Black Bonzo, and can to some extent be described as a continuation of that band as long as stylistic direction isn’t taken into account. They released their self-titled debut album in 2012, and just a short year later they have now returned with their second production “Mother’s Ruin”, released through Swedish label Transubstans Records.
Gin Lady appears to be a hard working band, or possibly a band with members that have built up a massive archive of material in previous bands that they now can unleash. Both scenarios could be possible in this case, as most if not all of the members of Gin Lady are currently exploring stylistic waters somewhat far removed from anything they have done before unless I’m much mistaken. Be that as it may be, in the year that have gone by since they released their debut album they have managed to record a whooping 17 tracks for their sophomore album, and while clocking in quite nicely at CD length they have chosen to spread the songs over two discs. Possibly due to the vinyl version of the album being a double I guess.
Still 17 tracks is a lot of music, and it is a demanding operation to make them all equally interesting. A challenge this band have mastered quite nicely as far as I’m concerned, although their chosen style probably isn’t one that all their old fans will embrace, and in particular those among them hanging on from the Black Bonzo days.
Blues based 70’s rock is a pretty accurate general description of the contents I guess, as the greater majority of the songs aren’t that far removed from the blues foundation that is the starting point for just about everything you can place into a rock music context. I suspect that if you picked the 100 most popular mainstream oriented rock bands with a defined blues character to their sound from the early 70’s, from both sides of the Atlantic, fans of most of them would fine familiar elements on at least one of the tracks on “Mother’s Ruin”. Especially those of the bands that combined guitars and piano to construct elegant, playful and enticing lead motifs. In terms of closer stylistic orientation, I guess boogie rock and southern rock are among the styles most frequently visited throughout, with at least one song (Rockin’ Horse) representing the easygoing ever popular variety of the former as explored by Status Quo and a few more heading into realms not that far removed from the likes of The Allman Brother band. The greater majority of the songs residing somewhere in between these I guess. A couple of the longer tracks gave me associations towards an obscure US band called Snail, and if the descriptions I’ve read about that band is correct I guess The Doobie Brothers might merit a mention as a possible influence on Gin lady’s latest album as well, although personally I can only vouch for the obscure band compared to this rather more famous act as a reference.
“Mother’s Ruin” is an album that you could throw associations at from this day to New Year’s Eve I presume, but at the end of the day the important thing is that it’s an incredibly enjoyable production. Tight piano and guitar interplay a key element throughout, with joyful brass details a frequent visitor and with occasional harmonica flavoring and a token few blazing organ runs as additional spices on this splendid early 1970’s oriented double feature. Carefully controlled lead vocals further elevates the experience, although some of the lyrics might leave a bit to be desired. Then again, I don’t think that the greater majority of the people with an interest in this kind of music cares too much about just that, as long as the music is enticing and an enrichment to their lives. If any ever so slight flaws should be pointed out, it would be that the music isn’t quite as psychedelic as the cover art of the album indicates. There are a few psychedelic details to enjoy admittedly, but this is more of a mainstream oriented affair through and through, the basis of which is clearly mapped out on the concluding blues piece Big Bad Wolf.
If you like your harder edged rock with a distinct blues flavor, Gin Lady’s second album “Mother’s Ruin” is one that merits a check. Especially if descriptions like boogie rock and southern rock is generally seen as interesting, and in particular if you have a deep affection for bands from the early 1970’s exploring these and similar varieties of harder edged rock.
My rating: 86/100
