Review | GUN – Hombres

Cooking Vinyl

Rocking things up seriously since the late eighties, Scottish rockers GUN impact with the brand-new album `Hombres’ seeing them return to their rocking old roots. Though they never strayed, the band has a long spanning career meandering with modernity, without losing their own identity. `Hombres’ however is the first album in decades that fires like a rocket as much as their debut.

A STEADY ROCKING FORCE

A ten-year hiatus from 1997 – 2007 is the only absence marking their rocking history, GUN is a steady rocking force in European rock, blending classic rock prowess with keen melodies and late eighties influences from the wave era. Don’t let the latter shy you away, because it enhances their sound, making their melodic accolades go down with U2 memorability. Whether you like it or not, the Irish counterpart is cooking up insanely nesting content since their rise, and GUN has embraced this circular motion of melody making `Hombres’ go down with milestone mastery, picking up much where they left off with their chart busting `Taking on the World’. Though `Gallus’ (’92) and `Swagger’ (’94) established them more firmly, it’s their debut offering really impacting. 

Especially known for their staggering performances, brothers (former bass player) Dante on vocals and Giulliano ‘Jools’ Gizzi on guitar, GUN swings enticing raw prowess with dazzling swagger, cooking up a busting stage presence well captured on this new album. Firing up the atmosphere with classic edgy rockers ,,All Fired Up” and the organic ,,Boys Don’t Cry”, the band breaks forward with stride before displaying their punkier essence with ,,Take Me Back Home”. 

MODERN DAY STATUS

Parading and thumping with lush melodies, ,,Fake Life” is a wonderful melodic rock addressing modern day status in typical GUN-style, before the band touches the emotional vibes with the colorful ,,Falling”, gradually building its atmospheric range. Slow paces, lush, branching louder, the song starts to pump iron with a muscular riff and wonderful melody supported by lush keys, with Dante belting out his mesmerizing vocal lines. Nesting and slick the song progresses simple but extremely effective, moving into the barnstorming rocker ,,You are what I Need”. 

Colorful guitar tone, stomping drums, the song rouses its live prowess and gospel tone, touching with psychedelic harmonies and vocals atop pitched guitar licks and meandering melodies. Strong on its singalong evocation, the song drones low with colorful tonnage, pitching into the rawer rocking ,,Never Enough”. Stomping bluesy, the song still packs the 80s new wave welling melodies in its harmonies, but rocks like ZZ Top on Scottish single malt, and the down toned ,,Don’t Hide Your Fears Tonight” perfectly matches this bluesy grit with European melodies, warping us into the late eighties. Lowballing you, the song fuses Simple Minds-persona with whirling melodics and raucous punky laurels. The song is typical as GUN’s stubbornness creating their own unique stride. 

GOSPEL GRANDEUR

Low droning bass pitch us to the fold with ,,Lucky Guy” throbbing and wailing. The song could easily be featured on their debut, but it also packs glam packed Rolling Stones and Sweet reminiscence, unloading contemporary vibes. The album is wrapped up in style with the slow moving, organic rocker ,,A Shift in Time” which discharges a strong and memorable hook and melody in its chorus, reverting the gospel grandeur, previously shit into action, with dominant grandeur. The song displays the brother’s interplay performing, guitar melodies aligned with the vocal melodies, both enchanting with enthralling spread. The guitar solo is wonderful and packs great vibes that transcend into the close harmony chorus, packing wonderful hit potential and towering momentum. 

Though only lasting 35 minutes, `Hombres’ is benchmark GUN. The album breathes the band’s typical melodic appeal and packs their live vibes like never before. Slick on its melodic output, the songs pack tremendous groove ‘n vibe, making them go down easily, heads nodding. The best about it all is that GUN manages to convey their down-to-earth radiance and prove timeless, comfortably sitting aside many rock classics of the last 4 decades.

Note: there’s a cd version available with 3 extra tracks.

Release date: 12 April 2024