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‘Mojo Skyline’, the new album from London-based quartet The Dust Coda, surprises from the off, and it doesn’t stop surprising throughout the 12 featured tracks. Opening with a full-on throaty Accapella vocal from John Drake on ‘Demon’, the album instantly grabs the listener’s attention and doesn’t release them until the last strains of closing track ‘It’s A Jam’ fade out sometime later. In the Urban Dictionary under “banger” it simply says “see ‘Demon’ by The Dust Coda”; for that is what it is. A banger. Great tempo, lusty playing, fantastic changes in style – from Rage Against The Machine ‘Bombtrack’ bass licks to an Aerosmith/GNR swagger in the drop of a hat – it’s the ultimate album opener.
‘Breakdown’ drops down a gear or two on a track that will have every hack typing out “Chris Cornell-esque” to describe Drake’s vocals, a great comparison to make as Drake does indeed the share range as Cornell, the scream he holds towards the end – yowza! ‘Limbo Man’ is a fantastic guitar-heavy track, and to these ears, features a mix of Thin Lizzy melodic dual guitars with trademark Peter Townsend power chords/licks. ‘Dream Alight’ is a real stop-you-in-your-tracks moment, light and uplifting, with a great lyrical message, and when the explosion of sound kicks in around 2:42 minutes, the only thing left to do is turn the volume dial skywards. Four powerful tracks, one after the other, all entirely different from the other. No variety in rock and roll? Sha right, as if.
‘Jimmy 2 Times’ begins with a rather nifty guitar-filled intro – a great mix of fizzing riffs and Malcolm Young-esque rhythms – before the track steadily builds with several, short bursts of explosive music. The Goodfellas-meets-Snatch narrative brings a gritty sense of realism, and with the addition of a brass section dotted throughout the five minutes, there is a ‘Quadrophenia/The Real Me’ feel to ‘Jimmy 2 Times’, although, there is a fantastic, subtle nod towards Steven Tyler and Aerosmith around the 2:00 minute mark – listen out for it.
Traditional mid-album sag? No chance of that here! First up; ‘Rolling’ with it’s electrifying, powerful guitar intro (lead guitarist Adam Mackie is truly a talent to behold), and Drake’s rich, organic vocals, a track to be filed under “epic”, then a change in pace on the gorgeous, gentle ‘Bourbon Pouring’ which you would swear that you’ve been listening to for decades – a great example of a simple, well-written song. Just as the listener is feeling all warm and loved-up inside, ‘I’ve Been Waiting’ crashes in and blows the doors off. Heavy-without-being-fast in the way that Soundgarden and Black Sabbath made look easy, it’s a powerful few minutes that rolls into the atmospheric Zeppelin-esque storytelling/Soundgarden crunch combination of ‘She’s Gone’. These last two songs are all about the stellar work from the backbone of the band; Scott Miller on drums, and his partner in rhythm Tony Ho on bass. Excellent work chaps.
The closing stages of the album kicks in with ‘They Don’t Know Rock ‘n’ Roll’; a track written for the live setting, where fans can get involved during the breakdown which happens to play out over a wall of slide guitar which gradually rises to glorious noise levels. Sounds like an organ in there in the background? Maybe? Big-ass sound whatever it is. ‘Best Believe it’ is a good time, uptempo, Montrose-like moment, ‘Space Station #5’/’Bad Motor Scooter’ done 2021-style? For sure, and another song just waiting on the return of live gigs. Ending on the glorious feel-good strains of ‘It’s A Jam’, ‘Mojo Skyline’ is the very definition of “all killer, no filler”.
Damn, this is good. Really good. One of those albums to shut up those that bemoan “…they don’t make them like that anymore” as soon as Led Zeppelin or Guns N Roses are played on Rock radio; and let’s be honest here, we all have a mate that has that blinkered approach when it comes to modern rock music. Fear not though, for The Dust Coda have created a monster of an album to be held up as “exhibit A, m’lord” in the case for new bands that “do still make them like that these days.”
‘Mojo Skyline’ will be released on 26th March 2021 via Earache Records. Pre-orders are available here – https://earache.com/dustcoda
Review – Dave
Photo credit: Dean Chalkley
