Ha! Classic rock. The genre that never dies and never grows old mainly, as the cynics say, because it was born with grey hair. What, with their second EP “Lights We Chase”, are Los Angeles youngsters Melted Vinyl therefore up to as they pursue an audience of fans of such things as tour bus debauchery and stadium filling guitar solos?
You can, however, hazard a guess that it must make some kind of commercial sense, in festival booking terms at least, for a band to be able to proficiently do the resurrection shuffle and, encouragingly, Melted Vinyl show themselves to be a band with the confidence and musical skills to cut it within the fortified walls of the classic rock genre. It also helps that this EP has the big budget sound of old with each note and vocal intonations coming through with clarity. The songs also show appropriate reverence to how it used to be done when a band could sell a million and, to give Melted Vinyl credit where it is due, I would think that they just might have done so back in the day.
That big budget sound gives Wolfgang King the space to let his voice roam and find the space to go large which he duly does with “Queen Of My Soul” while his band cohorts provide solid support throughout. Sam Kritzer’s near perfect rendition of old school drumming, for example, gives these songs the timeless sonic authenticity they need and the songs themselves tick all the lyrical boxes that a fan might expect even if “Can’t Love A Man” does seem rather more twisted than its sisters.
It’s an old school sound that Melted Vinyl have chosen to adopt and, when all is said and played back at substantial volume, they have that classic rock ambience nailed.
Best Song? “Can’t Love A Man”
The Verdict? Melted Vinyl are rock festival friendly and this EP is the proof.