Adelaide three-piece band, Tracer have returned with their third album El Pistolero. Doused with grunge and laced with stoner rock, the band has come a long way in a short period of time.
The influences the album carries are clear with a strong impact from the Seattle grunge scene of the 90s to the later stoner rock vibe of Queens Of The Stone Age, and Kyuss.
Produced by Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Slayer), the outcome is nothing short of stunning with a wall of sound that’s surprising for a three-piece.
The title tracks shoots from the hip and slams down a great big grunge rock groove, followed by a chaser of Michael Brown’s raspy vocals.
“Lady Killer” and “Dirty Little Secret” provide more ammunition, supplying further evidence that Tracer has arrived as a legitimate threat to the Australian rock scene. This kind of unadulterated vibrancy should see the band surge in popularity in the next 12 months.
While Brown’s vocal performance is instrumental in the band’s sound, the bass line on ‘Jett’ and the pulsating drumming of Andre Wise cannot be underestimated.
To narrow the worth of the record down to a handful of songs would be an injustice to the album with the subtle nuances between tracks going a long way in contributing to the vibe that’s found within El Pistolero.
