ALBUM REVIEW: Gateways – The Vintage Caravan

THE VINTAGE CARAVAN are an Icelandic rock band with an average age somewhere in the low twenties. Despite this, with their previous two efforts having netted great reactions from audiences and critics alike, they are now onto their third album release with Gateways. Some may dismiss them as a retro band with their 60s and 70s inspired hard rock style, but there is a certain modern energy that has permeated the group’s efforts that sets them apart from the pack.

This distinctiveness is immediately apparent on opening track Set Your Sights, a bluesy number which features THE VINTAGE CARAVAN‘s signature catchy riffs before building up in speed into a galloping solo as a perfect opening track. The two following tracks, The Way and Reflections, continue this more fast paced style, with the latter half of Reflections especially, being one of the standout moments of the whole album.

On The Run shows the band slowing back down and wouldn’t have sounded entirely out of place on any NWOBHM single. A sing-a-long chorus and quieter interludes along with an emotional solo complete what will be a highlight for many fans of the band’s previous work. This continues into the following track All This Time with THE VINTAGE CARAVAN demonstrating their ability to write well written songs at a variety of tempos.

The contrasting way the band manages this is perfectly illustrated by the one-two punch of the following tracks Hidden Streams, a slightly forgettable mid paced number, and Reset, a faster catchy strutter of a song which is all the stronger for its simplistic approach. Nebula does a complete turnaround on this and is one of the more experimental tracks on the album and does a great job of capturing the longer form experimentation rock music went through during the bands influences days without some of the pretentiousness that came with that.

Farewell and album closer Tune Out are two more slower paced tracks, which the album leans towards and features more of than either of its predecessors. While Tune Out does manage to build over its five minute run time, neither track really delivers the stand out impact of the first half of the album and leaves the album’s conclusion feeling decidedly slow and distracted.

What THE VINTAGE CARAVAN have created in Gateways is a bit of a mixed bag. Several of the songs, Reflections and On The Run in particular, are some top notch rock and roll while other tracks feel slightly meandering and directionless. Overall, there is a lot for fans to enjoy here and the songs will slip perfectly into the band’s impressive live set, however, while they haven’t dropped the ball with this release, they’re certainly capable of better.

Rating: 7/10

Gateways out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

Like THE VINTAGE CARAVAN on Facebook.