Released by: High Roller Records
Release Date: November 4th, 2016
Genre: Rock
Links: https://www.facebook.com/robertpehrssons.humbucker/
Tracklist:
01 Send Her My Love
02 Distant Bound
03 Traveling Through the Dark
04 Break Away from This Broken Heart
05 Pretender
06 Zero Emotion
07 The Hollow in a Rising Tone
08 The Somber Sleeps
09 No I Don’t
Robert Pehrsson is not a household name in the US. That’s a shame. Apparently, he got his start in the Swedish Extreme Metal scene in 1994, but his name and bands never crossed my way. In 2013 he released his debut as Humbucker to much acclaim overseas, but nothing over here. Again, that’s a tremendous shame. I doubt I will seek out his early work in the Extreme field, but his latest album under the Humbucker name has definitely grabbed my attention, and I feel like it should grab yours too.
Right off from the moment Long Way From to The Light began I was impressed. It had this Foo Fighters meets Thin Lizzy vibe- a super classic rock sound, but very much rooted in a more modern catchy hard rock vibe. As a huge Lizzy fan, anything that remotely puts me in mind of them I’m likely going to delve deeper. Pehrsson delivers major guitar hooks, drenched in bluesy hard rock solos- sometimes layered giving it that dual attack that makes 70’s era hard rock so impactful, incredibly strong vocal performances, and these songs that combine this poppy uptempo sound that isn’t cheesy and schmaltzy, with this deep knowledge of the roots of rock. Tracks like “Break Away From the Broken Heart,” ”Distant Bound,” and “Zero Emotion” instantly connected with me, yet the entire album is rife with killer hard blues-inflected rock that feels so natural and instantly recognizable, yet totally original.
Robert Pehrsson’s Humbucker Long Way To the Light is one of those albums that I really wasn’t expecting much from but was blown away by. It’s totally accessible commercially without being trite, boring, and typical, while at the same time providing a much-needed injection of cool to rock music today. There’s some seriously impressive guitar work and the songs deserve a wider audience.
Reviewer: Chris Martin