This morning sees the release of Takin’ A Ride, the lead cut from the forthcoming album Star Spangled Fist Fight by US sleaze rock sensations Kickin’ Valentina. This new track is indeed an impelling blast of anthemic riffery.
For the unacquainted, Kickin’ Valentina plays loud, unapologetic rock ‘n’ roll. The band are vocalist D.K. Revelle, Heber Pampillon on guitar, bassist Chris Taylor and Jimmy Berdine on drums. Their incendiary live performances have seen them win many friends in the UK over the past few summers with a host of tour and festival dates.
Their previous visit to these shores saw Takin’ a Ride aired in all its raw glory. At the time, I described it thus:
“The chorus is an instant earworm, and if this is an indication of what can be expected on the next album, then I am salivating at the thought. Along with the sheer mass of its riff, it is the kind of song that best be avoided while driving through places such as Staffordshire with its forests of speed cameras.”
This is a shadowy tune that chronicles a high-speed pursuit through the apocalypse whereby a renegade outlaw is desperate to flee his past. Now committed to tape, and while polished up, it loses none of the frenetic Valentina live energy.
Less than a second after Jimmy’s initial drum fill, BANG, the boys crash in with the relentless impetus of a hurtling juggernaut. The frantic riff leaps from the speakers, laying waste to all in its path, while Chris’ bass is the nitrous-injected V12 at the heart of the beast. D.K’s gravelly tones deliver the perfect commentary to the adventure as the desolate landscape flashes by.
Structurally, we get two lines of a call-and-response verse, the pre-chorus couplet prior to that instantly appealing air-punching chorus, and to crown it, Heber unleashes a face-melting solo.
Credit must also go to the production and mastering team of Andy Reilly and Joel Wanasek who have captured the immense sound in such a crisp manner.
This will become a sure-fire live favourite and is a perfect aperitif for the aforementioned Star Spangled Fist Fight, which promises to be “a bit louder and a bit more unapologetic.”
The single is available Friday from all the usual outlets, while the album drops on 19th April and is available to pre-order here.
“C’mon, give us some gas!”
