You can always count on A G E N T to get straight to the point and the point is timeless rock ’n’ roll bravado. Whilst the surface of that genre has undergone many cosmetic makeovers and generic reinventions, there is a thread that runs through its back story, or perhaps a sort of eternal flame* that keeps its essence safe. There have been many guardians of this holy relic, never obvious, always on guard and whilst the music industry fought the genre wars; classic verses alternative, grunge verse hair, metal verses melodic, it fell to such desperate bands as The Kinks, The Runaways, The Damned, The MC5, Alice in Chains and many others to keep the spirit of rock and roll alive. And it is that same essence which echoes at the heart of A G E N T. Not so much bands connected by a sound, but more by a swagger.
And Turn It Up is them doing what they do best. Shamanic beats, four-four going ten to the dozen, punk riffs like tectonic movements indespersed with soaring lead stabs, bass lines which you feel rather than hear and salvos of staccato lyrics so to the point that you are singing along by the time the second chorus comes around, if not before.
It’s not clever, but it is big. It’s not graceful but it grooves like a bastard. It ain’t going to change the world but it might just make your night. Hey, it’s proper rock and roll, what more do you need?
*Don’t worry, we are all picturing Suzannah Hoffs now.
