Gun – Hombres – Album Review

I’m not sure what is more unbelievable. The fact that it’s now thirty-five years since Scottish rockers Gun released their debut album Taking On The World, or that they are still here, and still capable of releasing an album as good as this. It’s a bit early for album of the year nominations, but this one will certainly be in the running for yours truly’s top spot. 

Hombres is easily their strongest album since their 2009 reformation. Whereas Break The Silence, Frantic, and 2017’s Favourite Pleasures had some great songs on them, they also had their patchy moments. Their frequent dabbling with covers and reworkings almost made you doubt that they could hit the levels of former glories again.  Well, they have, and then some. Hombres is packed with high-quality classic rock songs throughout. It’s an album that quite comfortably sits alongside the likes of Taking On The World, Gallus, and Swagger, their first three, still superb, albums.

 

Founding brothers Dante and Giuliano Gizzi claim that they needed to make an album “that would save the band…and save themselves”, and they’ve certainly bullseyed that target. Indeed, the first single All Fired Up serves as both a powerful introduction to the album and also provides a mission statement.  Indeed, it fizzes out of the traps, a hooky rocker with a great sing-along chorus. As if to hammer home this message, Boys Don’t Cry and Take Me Back Home continues in a similar vein without stopping for breath.

At the same time as featuring powerful, very well-produced rockers, this album’s strength lies in the diversity of influences and music on offer. They have broadened their sound and the album is all the better for it. In particular, the back-to-back combination of Falling, and You Are What I Need  lift this album to higher ground, no Gun related pun intended. The former is a memorable pop-rocker, with an almost balladic quality. Dante Gizzi says he couldn’t stop thinking of Johnny Cash‘s take on NIN‘s Hurt when he heard it. I can see what he means, it has a real hypnotic quality as the song builds. There is also a gospel feel to it, as does You Are What I Need. The combination of backing vocalists and a great bluesy rock track works perfectly.

  

Every time I listen to this album I have a different favourite song on it. Today’s favorite as I type this is Lucky Guy. It’s a catchy, glam-influenced track, that has a real earworm of a chorus. Indeed, it’s instantly familiar, which is the sign of a great song, isn’t it? Like a lot of songs here, you can tell it’s going to transfer to the live arena with ease. Were this album to have been released thirty years ago, they’d have had a few big hit singles on their hands that’s for sure. The album properly wraps up on the anthemic A Shift In Time. Indeed, it bookends things perfectly. It has a great singalong, again almost gospel quality, and yet another memorable chorus. 

I’ve followed Gun since the very beginning, and what makes this album most pleasing is that is genuinely up there with the best things they’ve done in that time. Since getting back together fifteen years ago, they have been threatening to release an album this strong, where the quality doesn’t let up throughout. The three preceding albums were good, but not up there to their early albums’, albeit very high, bar. This time they have matched those levels. Welcome back guys, it’s been a long time coming! 

Score: 9/10 

Tracklisting:

1- All Fired Up

2 – Boys Don’t Cry

3 – Take Me Back Home

4 – Fake Life

5 – Falling

6 – You Are What I Need

7 – Never Enough

8 – Don’t Hide Your Fears Tonight

9 – Lucky Guy

10 – A Shift In Time

11- Coming Back To You (Bonus Track)

12 – Wrong To Be Right (Bonus Track)

13 – Pride (Bonus Track)

Release Date: 12th April 2024

Label: Cooking Vinyl 

For all things Gun related, click HERE and to purchase the album, click HERE