Everyday Demons [Bonus Track] [PA] (CD - 2009)

Personnel: Paul Mahon (vocals, guitar, guitars); Cormac Neeson (vocals, harmonica); Michael Waters (vocals, bass instrument); James Heatley (vocals, drums); Michael Waters (vocals).

Audio Mixers: Mike Fraser; Tim Palmer.

Recording information: Seedy Underbelly Studio, Los Angeles, CA; The Dairy Studios, London, England.

Photographer: Robert Knight .

Ireland's the Answer falls precariously between the White Stripes' stripped-down bluesy jams and Velvet Revolver's post-cock-rock swagger. In reality, EVERYDAY DEMONS is rooted squarely in the classic influences of Free and Led Zeppelin.The difference is that their foot is crazy-glued to the gas pedal, as songs like opener "Demon Eyes" tear holes through the careful dynamics of their forebears with feedback and pounding rhythms. Still, vocalist Corman Neeson finds moments to swoon over psychedelic guitars with Robert Plant-like seduction during hip-thrusters such as "Cry Out." Even if the Answer are an unapologetically updated facsimile of countless rock-&-roll cornerstones, they've got infinitely more grit and gusto than a million Buckcherrys.

So enraptured by misty myths of golden gods, new millennium retro-rockers tend to overlook that a lot '70s hard rock could be kind of pedestrian, assuming that all their pumping Marshall amps are going to catapult them into the leagues of Zeppelin or Aerosmith when they often wind up sounding like the poor man's Foghat. The Answer doesn't sink to these depths with Everyday Demons -- their second album but first to get a major American push, thanks to their landing of the plum opening spot for AC/DC's Black Ice tour -- thanks in part to their incongruous sobriety. Unlike the tongue in cheek the Darkness or the unintentional parody of Wolfmother, the Answer takes things seriously, diligently assembling a collage of Zep, AC/DC, Free, and Thin Lizzy while writing party anthems that play like sacraments. This sober, studious approach does have a bit of a kick, particularly in regards to the guitars, which thrash and growl, filling up space with a sense of majesty and unwittingly diminishing vocalist Cormac Neeson, making him sound thin and reedy in comparison, especially when he strives to match Robert Plant's falsetto. More than anything, it's this lack of star power that brings the Answer into the arena of Foghat or Black Oak Arkansas -- that and a slight deficiency in tunes, as the group can write riffs, not songs. Apart from these two minor issues, the Answer has the right sound and feel on Everyday Demons and that does make them the perfect opener for latter day AC/DC: they work as pleasant appetizer for the main course. [The CD was also released with a bonus track.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize