Review: Electric Black – Late Night Lightning

TMR Rock Records (January 5^th 2024)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

I first heard / saw Electric Black in January last year at HRH NWOCR, and was impressed with the set they performed. I bought their debut album, ‘The Calm Before‘, whilst I was there and was glad I got a second chance to see them later in the year.

So here we are, album number two! ‘Late Night Lightning‘ carrys on from ‘The Calm Before‘ with a bluesy hard rock sound that British bands do oh so well.

I’ve had the promo for several months, so it’s given me plenty of opportunities to give it a proper listen. I’ll be honest and say that after quite a few playthroughs it started to sound quite samey. So I left it for a few weeks before re-visiting it as it were.

That break has given the album more of an impact. I found myself enjoying it far more. This is a tight sounding outfit, frontman Ali Shiach’s distinctive voice fitting perfectly with the material, the production is clear and concise, the album doesn’t sound overly compressed, helps having a decent lossless promo, and it may be an old clique but it’s one hell of a foot tapper.

With twelve tracks on the album, you’re not short changed, however it’s certainly not quantity over quality. There are certainly similarities with other artists, with ‘Master Or Disaster‘ sounding like it could be an Oli Brown song. But Electric Black still maintain a distinct sound throughout.

If I’m going to criticise in any way, it’s not a negative one, it’s one of personal preference, and that is I prefer hearing the band live. I don’t want you to think that I find ‘Late Night Lightning‘ at all disappointing, it’s just they’re one hell of a live band!

Tracklist:

01 Put It Down On Me

02 World Ain’t So Heavy

03 Take The Roof Off

04 Come On Over

05 Making Of Me

06 Master Or Disaster

07 Take To The Grave

08 Late Night Lightning

09 Taste Of Paradise

10 Sick Of Myself

11 Act On This Attraction

12 Hellfire Revival