Aaron Keylock - Cut Against The Grain (Album Review)
Tuesday, 31 January 2017
Written by Simon Ramsay
Whoever penned the biography for this ‘70s-loving rock ‘n’ roller needs a kick up the caboose for getting their facts wrong. The text hilariously states that he was only 18 years old when this record was made. Seriously? Someone that young could never have written such a classy debut, one that's overflowing with tasteful fretwork and without a single cover version in sight. Could they?
Well, apparently they could. Our apologies to the PRs. Not that we’re embarrassed. ‘Cut Against The Grain’ simply doesn’t sound like a first record or the kind of album you usually get from a young gunslinger. Not that Keylock is your typical new kid on the block. From taking part in blues jams aged 11 to supporting Blackberry Smoke, Wilko Johnson and Joanne Shaw Taylor, he’s been working towards this debut, honing his craft and learning from the best.
All The Right Moves kicks like Rory Gallagher astride a bucking mule, while the busking joviality of Falling Again imagines what might have happened had the Irish firebrand landed the Rolling Stones gig and brought a little of his charm to Sympathy For The Devil.
Elsewhere, Spin The Bottle is a boogying slice of Lynyrd Skynyrd pie, Medicine Man throws gospel singers and a dump truck full of swagger into a tasty Black Crowes gumbo and Sun’s Gonna Shine’s rottweiler riff exhibits the young maestro’s potent slide playing. It’s a prominent tool in his arsenal, one that delightfully recalls the late Johnny Winters.
His influences are obvious, but there’s enough of Keylock’s own heart and soul here thanks to him being a songwriter first, guitarist second. That’s the real revelation. His six-string skills have been highlighted so much that you expect the kind of music young guitarists usually produce. In other words, underdeveloped songs that are vehicles for obscene fretboard masturbation.
These tunes, though, are very well crafted and demonstrate a prodigious aptitude for structure, melody and composition. Not just on explosive cuts like the title track, but in the way he melds together three different time signatures on the piston-pumping Down and showcases a penchant for classic southern balladry on Try and No Matter What The Cost.
Such maturity stretches to his perfectly judged playing. Keylock is instinctively aware of what a song needs and never overplays, exhibiting a lyrical style that makes for refreshingly memorable solos without wasting a single note. The bluesy Gary Moore leads on Just One Question are economical and rich with emotion, but when the song seems to be approaching its end, you’re almost sure he’ll keep on shredding for a few more minutes. Instead it finishes. He’s said all he needs. Time to move on.
If there’s a slight weakness here it’s his singing. He possesses a streetwise drawl that like a cross between Gallagher’s punk spirit and Ronnie Van Zant’s steely-eyed croon. It’s certainly not bad, but you get the feeling there’s more soul, control and development to come as his vocal timbre becomes weathered by more miles and years on the clock.
Proving age is but a number and the hype surrounding him is more than justified, the most exciting thing about ‘Cut Against The Grain’ is, perhaps, that it’s his only his first go and traditionally musicians in this genre get better and better as they progress. Keylock’s train has well and truly left the station and is already chugging towards the promised land, so jump on board for what promises to be a hell of a ride.
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