{"id":26010,"date":"2025-01-29T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=26010"},"modified":"2025-01-28T23:02:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T23:02:54","slug":"gyasi-here-comes-the-good-part-alive-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=26010","title":{"rendered":"Gyasi – \u2018Here Comes The Good Part\u2019 (Alive Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Do you remember a time when music fans adorned their bedroom walls with posters of their heroes? Larger-than-life rock stars who seemed untouchable to a wide-eyed teen? Gyasi does. The West Virginia born and raised singer channelled those very same idols: Bowie, Bolan and Zep to the max on his debut album \u2018Pronounced Jah-See’ back in 2022, unapologetically wearing his influences on his satin sleeves for all to see. We here at RPM fell for him, hook, line and sinker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he follows up last year\u2019s killer live opus \u2018Rock n\u2019 Roll Sword Fight\u2019 with his sophomore studio album \u2018Here Comes The Good Part. So, let’s dip right in and see if Gyasi hits the spot second time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opener \u2018Sweet Thing\u2019 sets the scene with a Ziggy stomp and a laid back, bluesy Black Keys like groove. The instant hook of a chorus makes a b-line for your brain and Gyasi is well and truly back in business with a sure-fire anthem of self-expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing I dig about Gyasi is his ability to mix up the sound of his influences to great effect. 70\u2019s glam rock is the order of the day, add to that a smattering of west coast 60\u2019s psychedelia and a shot of Brit Pop for good measure, and we\u2019ve got a good thing going. This is evident on the swaggering \u2018Lightening\u2019 and the more bluesy, high-energy stomp of \u2018She Says\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Snake City\u2019 has cool dynamics and a stomper of a chorus, \u2018Cheap High\u2019 is high octane rock n\u2019 roll done just right. A sleazy, low-slung Aerosmith riff and a cocksure demeanor makes it an early album standout. As is previous single \u2018Baby Blue, a shameless T Rex stomp with a chorus to die for. Yes, you know exactly where he’s pilfered it from as much as I do, but fuck me, what a tune!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some might say there\u2019s blatant Bowie plagiarism going on here. Yes, that arpeggiated riff to \u2018Sweet Thing\u2019 certainly carries a passing resemblance to \u2018Ziggy Stardust\u2019, \u2018American Dream\u2019 with its regimental snare beat, acoustic guitar and sexy sax has a \u2018Lady Stardust\u2019 feel to it and stunning CD only bonus cut \u2018Apple Tree\u2019 is Gyasi\u2019s \u2018Oh! You Pretty Things\u2019. But surely, he’s just embracing his influences, and it never hurt Noel Gallagher, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The piano led \u201823\u2019 sees our sequin-suited hero banging to the beat of a different drum. With its laid-back, sexy sax accompaniment and dreamy vibes, its veering towards 80\u2019s new age pop in a good way, hints of Roxy Music come to find here. And then album closer \u2018Grand Finale\u2019 comes on like some glam rock musical reprise. Picked acoustic chords, soaring strings and a self-assured vocal performance build with cleverly produced drums to give that authentic 70\u2019s analogue feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With just the right amount of sleazy riffs & power chords, a good dose of lipstick & glitter and enough dirt under the fingernails, \u2018Here Comes The Good Part\u2019 straddles Bowie in his Hunky Dory\/Ziggy Stardust years, it embraces Marc Bolan between \u2018Electric Warrior\u2019 and \u2018The Slider\u2019 and brings us right up to date for the kids by digging the sounds of Jack White and The Black Keys. It would all be so laughable and throwaway if the songs weren\u2019t up to scratch, but guess what? The songs are good, they are very good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ll tell you one thing for sure, if I was a wide-eyed teen discovering rock n\u2019 roll right now, I\u2019d proudly have Gyasi\u2019s poster on my bedroom wall and this sophomore-long player would be blasting from the speakers day and night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An eagerly anticipated album from a rising star, and an essential purchase for 2025. Get it on, pre-ordered and demand a UK tour quick sharpish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy Here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you remember a time when music fans adorned their bedroom walls with posters of their heroes? Larger-than-life rock stars who seemed untouchable to a wide-eyed teen? Gyasi does. The West Virginia born and raised singer channelled those very same idols: Bowie, Bolan and Zep to the max on his debut album \u2018Pronounced Jah-See’ back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1702,2773,1818,978],"class_list":["post-26010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-glam-rock","tag-gyasi","tag-new-album","tag-rock-n-roll"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26012,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26010\/revisions\/26012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}