Review: Austin Gold – Ain’t No Saint
TMR Rock Records (October 18th 2024 )
Reviewer: Stephen Brophy
Some bands tend to fly a bit under the radar, continue to work hard, build their following as they develop their own style, while just getting better and better as a live act. Austin Gold for me is one of those bands, they are superb live and over the years have just gotten better and better. With their new release ‘Ain’t No Saint‘ that trend has definitely continued in what for me is their best album to date.
From the opening title track to the brooding, powerful closing track ‘Return’ what we get here is ten excellently written and composed songs that straddle Rock, Progressive and Melodic Rock all in one really well performed and produced bundle. The singles released to date have been terrific, ‘The Wire Defines’ is certainly one of the best songs here, has a bit of everything in it, including a solo that just fits perfectly. Musically I think Austin Gold are just where they are supposed to be on their journey, every member of the band puts in a great performance on the album, and I really can’t wait to hear these songs live.
From the moment I heard ‘Not Enough’ my ears just perked to attention, it’s a killer of a track, builds in layers, has an unbelievably catchy chorus and upbeat vibe throughout. As with the whole album David James Smith’s vocals are superb, but there’s something a little magical in this one for me, it’s quite poppy and it works so well in the flow of the songs, the backing vocals add a lot to this song as well. Would love to see a making of documentary to see just how the guys were feeling as the album came together and hopefully how happy they have been with the end product. ‘Hang Fire’ has been grabbing my attention more on each listen and ‘End Of Our Song’ I think can speak to everybody and has a very bluesy feel to it.
I rarely mention the cover of an album in a review, but I love this once and images are always open to our own interpretation, but the white angel wings of a downcast angel in a dark venue under a shaft of light works perfectly.
For a band that has consistently grown, matured and developed over the course of their career to date, ‘Ain’t No Saint‘, for me marks a very significant step up in class that will hopefully elevate them to a higher level. This album has that wow factor, great songs traversing different styles and a band that seem to be 100% working towards their goals as musicians. Bravo guys, you have smashed it with this album, and I can see it staying high in my playlist for a long time to come. Get this one and go see the band live on the supporting Tour. It, and they will not disappoint.
Track listing:
1 Ain’t No Saint
2 The Wire Defines
3 Hell Or High Water
4 Not Enough
5 Down & Outs
6 End Of Our Song
7 Hang Fire
8 Hold The Anchors
9 Callin’ Time
10 Return
Line-up:
David James Smith (vocals & guitar)
Lee Churchill (bass)
Adam Leon (keyboards)
James Pepper (drums)
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