Review: Rückwater ‘Supernova’

Hailing from Tampere in Finland, and ready to rock your world, are your new favourite band, and I can imagine you haven’t even heard of them yet. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and every little thing in between, I give you Rückwater and will be releasing their debut album ‘Supernova’ to us all on the 23rd of July 2020. Keep that date in your diary, as you won’t want to miss this.

Rückwater ‘Supernova’

Now, what can I say about Rückwater, well, as you’ve probably never heard of them, I could pretty much say anything really, they are international playboys, superheroes from another galaxy, or even three-legged horse whisperers from another dimension.

But no, that would possibly be a little much. I can tell you this though, these guys, this Rückwater trio, they’re here to blow your minds, with something so fresh, that it’s going to make the second half of twenty twenty a much brighter place to be indeed.

Up to this debut, Make, Jape, and Jussi (vocal and guitar, drums, and vocal and bass respectively), had been busy building up an impressivelittle collection of EP’s over the last decade, with the last one entitled Bonehead. But nothing could prepare us for this, well frankly, a ‘Supernova’ of an album.

Trying to place Rückwater on the musical spectrum is a little easier said than done. There are elements of Queens Of The Stone Age and The Black Keys. There’s a sprinkle of Soundgarden and Jerry Cantrell, andthen there’s even a hint of Living Colour and Therapy? at play.

The best way to put it is that Rückwater sound like, well, they sound like Rückwater. There are also little elements that can be compared with other contemporaries, but it’s hard to pinpoint any specific sub-genre that they would fall into in this modern age, where everything needs to be labelled and compartmentalised.

Rückwater make straight up, good time rock, they are everything you want in a band, and they take no prisoners.They crash in, deliver the goods, and then leave witha hail of devastation in their wake. Without doubt this is the biggest breath of fresh air my record collection has seen in a long time, it’s not loaded with political antagonisms, or anarchic threats, it’s just a plain and simple, hard rocking masterpiece.

There are no ten-minute overtures, no soundscape interludes, it’s just a straight out, balls to the wall, rock album…

From opener Rat In A Jar the thing that struck me is the charismatic, effortless way in which these guys blast out a tune, it has such a swagger to it that it’s hard not to get drawn in to Rückwater’s world. Some of the tracks sway towards a slower, more stoner vibe, and yet others experiment with different areas completely.

Tracks such as Broken Stone and Rocket Fuel indulge a little of the American industrial sound, there are moments which feel like Tool, especially in the vocal attack mid-way through Broken Stone in which you could easily be forgiven for thinking that Maynard James Keenan had assumed vocal duties, whereas Rocket Fuel rumbles along like the classic Nine Inch Nails anthem Head Like A Hole.

These are in complete contrast to other areas on Supernova, which are all out hard rock escapades. There’s also several moments of psychedelic ambience, such as on album closer 3/1. For me this rings bell’s, as it’s reminiscent of a hero of mine, the solo work of Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains and particularly of his vocal performance. That’s no bad thing, as Jerry Cantrell is such a revered musician, and it’s obvious to see why it’s comparable as it wouldn’t be out of place on either of Cantrell’s solo works.

It’s hard for me to find any particular stand out moments that are head and shoulders above the rest, as it’s all just so wonderful from start to finish, that to lessen any part would be a complete travesty. Simply put, Rückwater’s Supernova is truly an incredible debut, and it’s quite easily the freshest thing I’ve listened to in a long time.

In a time when everything is dissected and put under a microscope to study it to within an atom of its being, here is something so incredible in its simplicity that it needs no such treatment, it’s an outright blast of an album, its infectious, and you can feel the love and enjoyment that’s been poured into this musical affair.

There are no ten-minute overtures, no soundscape interludes, it’s just a straight out, balls to the wall, rock album, and considering how this year started, with Rückwater on the scene, at least it looks like it will go out with a bang. Keep your eyes on these guys, because if there’s any justice left in the world, they are about to explode big time.

Label: Inverse Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram

Scribed by: Lee Beamish