High Decibels

Bands emulating other bands is no new thing. The Killers did their best impression of The Cure with their first outing, Bigelf did Pink Floyd, and The White Stripes covered just about every blues act out there. I don’t mind if a band steals another bands thunder as long as they do it well and have some sort of niche that helps make that sound their own. Fortunately 77 is a band that not only sounds almost identical to Bon Scott era AC/DC but also manages to do it while still hanging on to an identity they can call their own.

If you’ve read any other review of 77’s latest album no doubt you’ll find that a majority of them start off with this AC/DC comparison, and for good reason, the similarities are striking in an almost uncanny fashion. High Decibels really could be a long lost AC/DC album. Armand Valeta is spot on for Scott and the rest of the bands sound is very close, sometimes taking on a Johnny Winter type sound. In any case the band shows no lack of experience as they jam out on the album to an almost flawless sophomore release. Their love for the rock and roll genre is displayed with 80’s flare as they hit slow heavy grooves (High Decibels) or blast off with manic blues inspired jam sessions (Gimmie A Dollar). In the end you’ll have to decide weather or not it would be sacrilege for the band to emulate AC/DC so well or if the important thing is that, despite similarities, 77 still rocks hard and well despite everything. Make sure to head over to their Myspace page to hear the albums title track as well as a few of their other songs. Enjoy.