Straight Six take you back a couple of decades with authentically fast-paced, gritty rock and roll on this album – the sort that fills you with fire and an energetic lust for life. Full Circle hits hard from the offset. Aimed At Me pours high-octane guitar work and drums into the room, soon accompanied by a passionate and bold leading voice with the perfect level of gravel to really carry that nostalgic realness through with style. You don’t question any of it, there’s just a certain connection to and love for the music they’re making, so you let it play, you let it take over, and you’re likely to crave a live show pretty soon within the journey.
Throughout the Full Circle album, Straight Six exercise impeccable musicianship alongside of unwavering expression in so many ways. Middle Of The Ride follows the opener and showcases a slightly more blues-rock, thoughtful ambiance – the riffs stand alone for a while, there’s more focus on the words and the mellow mood; the vocals sound beautiful. There’s plenty of character to each line and to the guitar part that runs throughout. It’s a memorable song that’s easy to have play out on repeat.
Back Home feels like a familiar rock classic, a driving anthem or a heartfelt moment of togetherness at a gig. There’s heart to the song – where the opening track thrives on its own raw energy and vibrancy, those that follow prove there’s way more to this than a simple love for the rock sound. The songwriting, the considerate ideas, the craftsmanship and the harmonies – there’s a lot to be grateful for within this entire playlist.
Adding further eclecticism, Cry All Night offers an unexpected moment of emotional pop-rock fused with a little pop-punk. The distorted power-chords have that punk quickness, but the melody and the story-line feel much more widely accessible in a pop-rock sort of fashion. The vocals are stunning and the guitar solo presents itself with genuine warmth. Afterwards, Divided We Stand takes things down another musically impressive pathway and toys with a familiar political concept in a quirky, memorable way.
During the latter half of the album, Joneser’s Lane drives with cascading guitars and a lower vocal tone that leads up towards a huge hook – bringing about a mighty, anthemic finish. What I Would Give then takes the form of a softer, melodic pop-rock piece – the contrast works well, the project is effectively arranged. This song has an acoustic delicacy about it, within which the vocals again sound phenomenal. A quieter moment like this really stands out among a heavier playlist and reminds those who can remember of the glorious MTV Unplugged days.
Old Back Road fires up with a meandering bass-line and a scene-setting verse section, followed by a theatrical musical set-up that holds tight to your attention as it evolves. 21 Guns follows and is several years away from the Green Day hit you might expect. Those classic rock vibes stand strong and proud throughout. Then you get the absolute power and passion of Black & Blue to bring the album to an upbeat and rhythmically chaotic finish. The drums are insane here, the bass stands out, the vocals drive with pure energy – all in all it makes for a great end to an equally enjoyable project. The band are one to look out for on the live scene, for sure.
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