Rhi McPhelimIn May 2011, American rockers Rival Sons emerged with the title track of their sophomore album, Pressure & Time. Today, the single is one of their most well-known. It boasts over 34 million Spotify streams and over 3.3 million views for its swaggerous music video, which premiered a few days before its streaming release.
Background
Rival Sons formed in Long Beach, California in 2009 (though certain outlets state 2008). Many a promoter has used the description that they are a “raucous, maximum-blues-infused, hard rock band, who explode with the rhythm and roughness of some of the greatest rock acts of all time.”
They emerged that same year with debut album Before the Fire, which was self-released and produced by David Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine).
Building steady buzz on the West coast, they soon caught the attention of Earache Records founder Digby Pearson. They were subsequently offered a record deal one year later, and work on their debut’s follow up began imminently.
Released on June 20th, 2011 in the UK and June 28th in the States, Pressure & Time arrived with a statement of intent.
01 “All Over The Road” + 02 “Young Love”
The album opens with “All over the Road”, a firm and fuzzy mid-tempo track dashed with 60s classic rock influences and an assured attitude. Drummer Mike Miley sets the foundation with a swift drum fill before Scott Holiday (guitar) and Robin Everhart (bass) build upon the frame.
Jay Buchanan’s vocals enter at eight seconds in. His tone is bright and clear, but earthy. With his commanding delivery and strong articulation, he’s often noted as having a “preacher-like presence”. This rings true in succeeding track, “Young Love” – a personal favourite from their entire discography.
Buchanan’s simple vocal melody rumbles from low to high, drawing you into a story of a determined romance. With a Southern twang and a rebellious air, it can be easily forgotten that the band hail from sunny California and not somewhere towards Texas or the Deep South.
Stylistically, the idea of simplicity as strength is really etched into the band’s identity in this album. That and their ability to swing between their two most distinct feels: Polished, powerful and slightly minimal (though with no lack of grit) versus raw, ragged and more distorted. They teeter between these two personas across most of this LP, but more so towards the latter.
03 “Pressure and Time” – Title Track
Next comes the album’s centrepiece, “Pressure and Time”. It was the first single to be released from the album and impresses early at track three. A fiery song pumped with the fierceness of 60s Led Zeppelin, it’s built on a four-note ascending guitar riff and a four/four groove on the ride cymbal.
Again, the song’s simplicity is possibly its greatest strength. The four note motif appears in the chorus’ backing vocals – subtle but effective. The band use space to their advantage, with only a solo drum groove heard at times. Each component of the track is easily detectable, making the song just as easily dissectible.
The song’s conclusion is rather slick: A tasteful drum phrase, a few bursts of the motif, a brooding answer from the bass and a squeal of guitar before all end in unison. It checks the boxes of a powerful, memorable lead track.
04 “Only One”
“Only One” taps into the band’s soul and Motown influences. Buchanan belts with ease and softly croons where needed, with a gorgeous organ singing alongside him. The preacher comparison again comes to mind.
05 “Get Mine”
The LP’s halfway point, “Get Mine” strikes similar to opening track, “All Over The Road”. It’s punchy and busy, with fuzzy riffage, putting itself into the “raw and ragged” corner. Featuring some nice guitar and bass stabs and anthemic shouting of “get mine”, it brings the energy right back up.
06 “Burn Down Los Angeles”
“Burn Down Los Angeles” confirms a formula of rugged, polished, rugged, polished, in terms of the album’s track listing.
Opening with rumbling (almost) solo drums, similar to “Young Love”, it signifies a strong story to follow. This time, there’s an air of vengeance as Buchanan repeats his declaration of the song title, seemingly disillusioned by the big city’s fake promises.
07 “Save Me”
“Save Me” is built on another strong Buchanan-Miley combo, featuring solo vocals over pounding drums for most of the song. Holiday and Everhart are paired to hold down short unison stabs, before Holiday breaks away at times to unleash his own flourishes and a short solo.
08 “Gypsy Heart”
Bringing in the final third of the album is “Gypsy Heart”. The solid, straight four/four drum pulse draws a comparison to Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks”. Though it’s only expected for a contemporary rock drummer to draw elements from the legendary John Bonham, Miley more frequently notes influences such as Bernard Burdie, Mitch Mitchell, Tony Williams, Buddy Rich and Ringo Starr.
09 “White Noise”
Penultimate track “White Noise”, is the album’s least-loved song (referencing Spotify), which does not particularly come as a shock. Holiday uses some sort of effects chain to create a humming low frequency oscillator (LFO)-type sound that offers some fresh texture, however, the song is comparable to several other songs from the album in terms of structure.
10 “Face of Light”
The album’s finale “Face of Light” is a warm, anthemic conclusion. Fittingly titled, it’s a song to be performed against thousands of swaying lights. The instrumentation is bright though softened, letting the vivid imagery of the lyrics shine. Everhart, Miley and Holiday swell with power, drawing from Buchanan’s intensity before the song ends on a fade-out.
Conclusion
Few albums of 2011 could challenge the sheer power of Pressure & Time. The idea of the “dreaded sophomore album” whimpers in this instance.
The album was released to good reception, with extensive praise around the band’s musicianship, but question marks over how they could solidify a style of their own.
It reached number one on Amazon’s Hard Rock best sellers list and number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
The band later went on to earn support slots for Judas Priest, Black Stone Cherry, AC/DC, Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath. It was the Birmingham trio that helped them to play their first show on Irish soil in 2017, when they opened for the legends on The End tour’s Dublin stop.
Pressure & Time paved the way for a steady output of succeeding albums every one to three years. This was until 2023, when they took just one extra year (i.e. a four-year break) to deliver a double-album:
- Head Down (2012)
- Great Western Valkyrie (2015)
- Hollow Bones (2016)
- Feral Roots (2019)
- DARKFIGHTER (2023) + LIGHTBRINGER (2023)
- Pair of Aces (2024) – Live Album
Knowing how the band has developed since Pressure & Time, there is little to say about what the album could have done differently. As a sophomore LP, it has certainly earned its keep.
As the band have not played an Irish show since 2022, I eagerly await their return to Dublin to hear them in all their glory again.
For tickets, merchandise and more information on Rival Sons, visit www.rivalsons.com
