Album review: Florence Black – Weight Of The World

Most anyone who’s caught Florence Black onstage in recent years has left the venue asking the same question: ‘How can three Valley Boys from Merthyr Tydfil kick up such an ear-smashing, gut-bothering racket?!’

Aptly-titled debut album Weight Of The World manages spectacularly to commit that sensation to record, delivering 10 tracks of no-nonsense, rough-edged hard rock with maximum firepower and zero frills. Their three EPs so far might’ve already captured the imaginations of the more discerning members of the UK underground, but this is a set of songs capable of putting them on the radars of old-school rockers around the world.

Raucous opener Zulu sets out the stall early with 40 seconds of ominous ambience before being kicked through by some enormous riffs and swaggering, gravel-guzzling vocals courtesy of outstanding frontman Tristan Thomas. Inside Out ups the stomp with a few banging nu-metal inflections, before On The Ropes swings in, showcasing heroically indomitable backs-to-the-wall attitude. Then Sun & Moon completes their retro-rock CV with a bittersweet sundown ballad that could’ve competed with Whitesnake to own American airwaves in 1987.

Backing vocals from bassist Jordan Evans and drummer Perry Davies – not to forget arena-sized production courtesy of Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Sylosis, Motörhead) – brilliantly build out the sound. And so we go, from the gargantuan grooves of Can You Feel It? to the bluegrass-inflected easygoing of Grove Street to snarling, horizon-chasing closer The Light.

Stylistically, it’s meat-and-potatoes stuff that we’ve seen hundreds of times before, of course, and cynics asking ‘Do we really need a Welsh Black Stone Cherry?’ might have a point. For those of us who like our bar-room soundtracks rock with heads down and beers up, straight down the line, though, this feels like a perfect soundtrack to swing hips and throw fists now that our favourite spit-and-sawdust dive bars are opening back up.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: Black Stone Cherry, Stone Sour, Bullet For My Valentine

Weight Of The World is out now

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