Austin Gold

Austin Gold

Jig-Saw Peterborough rocks again, on mini-album stop-gap.

This Cambridgeshire quintet’s 2017 debut, Before Dark Clouds, was an irresistible love letter to ZZ Top crunch, drainpipe-tight powerpop, wailing glam and easyrolling country soul, arranged and analogue-recorded with care. Two years on, and that freewheeling approach has been streamlined into deliberate anthems which showcase David James Smith’s full-throttle voice, locating them more closely in Free’s Britrock lineage.

We Are Lightning succeeds best in its roof-raising mission, alternating heavy guitars and Plant-like vocal histrionics with creamy Beatlesque melodies and harmonies, alongside an invitation to ‘stand up, this is who we are’. Lifelines similarly claims that ‘we’ll be a million strong’, although quite what the Austin Gold Army stand for and where they’re marching remains vague. Caught On You reverts to the band’s former strengths, emphasising Hammond, buzzing guitars and the reverb-drenched ‘tish’ of cymbals. Such attention to detail still serves them better than grasping for glory. ■■■■■■■■■■