By Nelson Heise

I have to be honest, I had to go the band’s website to find out if they (Pilla) were a serious band or not. In just listening to the disc, “Don’t Touch Me”, I get a lot of mixed messages. Sure there are ton of good thick rock tunes that dance the fine line of good Guns ‘n’ Roses, grunge and classic rock, but there are also those ballads. Take for example “Biggest Mistake”; I swear to God I thought I was listening to Extreme or Poison with just a harsher vocal tone. Now the songs maybe entirely serious but I just can’t get that comparison to go away. Even down to the dramatic guitar solo entry. I am not saying this sound is right or wrong, but it just doesn’t float my boat like the rockers did on this disc, and I will say those are excellent.

Easy pick for favorite track for me is “The Queen”, a hard bluesy swagger that diagrams the perfect combination of blues, hard rock and vocal grit. Also, “The Bandit” had nice non-pussy 80’s rock vibe, and I think that’s it. While I hear a lot of hair metal influence, the heavy stuff brings some big balls, and the balladry stuff– not so much. As I say that though, the final cut “Memphis and a Bottle of Booze (Missing Memphis)” is a great closer and has a bit of the Supersuckers gone country feel. I get it and then I don’t with Pilla’s “Don’t Touch Me”. It’s rock and it’s fun, and according to their site they rock live pretty hard, and the same time it’s a bit silly. But I ask myself one thing, “Did you enjoy it?” And for the most part, yeah I did.

www.pillaband.com

Filed under: Music Reviews