Highway Child

Highway Child

Written by: PP on 29/04/2011 03:30:46

The Danish mainstream media has long proclaimed Highway Child to be the saviours of Danish rock'n'roll, which has propelled them to significant success within the borders of this nation. It's no surprise, really, considering how archaic their music sounds like, a perfect match for the music journalists in their early 40s who work for marketing outlets magazines like Gaffa and Soundvenue. That said, despite owning a sound which inherits more from the 60s than from any modern era of rock'n'roll, Highway Child put on quite a decent showing on their self-titled album, their third one in four years.

The one thing that strikes out immediately from "Highway Child" is its ability to transform the mood and atmosphere of its surroundings. From the twangy guitar solos and the groovy rhythm section to the soulful vocals and a strong Southern redneck vibe, the band is very good at placing the listener right in the middle of some lone highway in the midst of Arizona desert, or a forgotten saloon in a ghost city somewhere in Louisiana. It's an impressive achievement from a Danish band, but yet a natural and fitting one considering the band's main influences: Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream. Feel free to insert any country/blues band with 60s/70s rock influences, or most psychedelic acts from the same era for that matter, but especially those who you would consider to be very much guitar-driven. For a more recent parallel, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will do just fine.

Nevertheless, Highway Child have moulded a sound that's very much their own. When you hear the guitars twang, twist and screech, you'll recognize them to be by this band straight away, if from nothing else but their love for experimenting just what is possible from a technical guitar players' standpoint. If you've ever caught the band live before, you'll have noticed how their lead guitarist lives every riff and every chord, as if the instrument is a direct extension of his body. He is complemented by a vocalist with a particularly soulful voice, which he isn't afraid to push into the rowdy territory when necessary. With these two weapons in their arsenal, Highway Child come across as a very good blues/rock band for the older generation, but younger music fans might just find their retrospective style a tad dated and anachronistic to care.

7

Download: Shades Of Blue, Love Love Love, Soulmender
For the fans of: Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Listen: Myspace

Release date 21.03.2011
Slow Shark Records

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