ALBUM REVIEW: First Bite – Laced in Lust

There will always be a place in rock music for straight up party tunes, and LACED IN LUST have set their sights on doing just that. Dubbed the ‘naughty sons of Adelaide’, the Australians have crafted a strong set of songs since their formation in 2012 and toured with the likes of TYGERS OF PAN TANG, FEAR FACTORY and the mighty STATUS QUO. The logical next step, particularly when shows aren’t possible, was a debut album, and tomorrow sees that drop. Entitled First Bite, it comprises new material with re-recorded favourites and is released via Rockshots Records.

When playing in the vein of glam legends like MÖTLEY CRUE and POISON, one major factor is danger – whether or not the tunes emit a sense of living life on the edge. Similarly, there needs to be an element of sleaze, an added sex factor as if the song could legitimately seduce someone. First Bite, one the other hand, comes across too safe, particularly in the first three tracks of Save Me (L.I.L Woman), Hot Tonight and Hard in This Town; more concerning is that they’re all new material. There’s a touch of something in there – a bit of stomp in Save Me and a half-decent chorus in Hot Tonight – but there’s little bite or bravado at play here.

Bizarrely, the following track, Your Name is entirely acoustic, which disrupts the album’s flow and, given its ploddy nature and saccharine subject matter, probably shouldn’t have made the album at all. Firing Lines brings some of that famous QUO chord progression into play and things start to pick up somewhat, although the quality in the middle drops dramatically and Party’s Over, the title now quite ironic given what’s come before, isn’t anything to write home about either. The full album is over an hour in length as well – a slog for many people, let alone those with a love for short, punchy rock songs that make you want to drink beer and stay up until the early hours.

Thank heavens, therefore, for the entire second half. This is where the bulk of the re-recorded material is present, understandable given they’re the tracks that have been around for a while, but all of a sudden, from the moment On Parole gives us cowbell (always a winning move), LACED IN LUST go from a band who are a pale imitation of those that came before to one with serious potential. I Remember When I Was Young has a good opening riff and a decent bounce to it whilst Rock You has another big QUO riff and an underlying groove that carries it well. The award for the catchiest chorus goes to Black Heart Murder and by the time I’m Alone opens with an AC/DC guitar line and picks up the pace towards a furious climax, there’s plenty of head bopping to be had, something that seemed unthinkable a mere half hour before. Final track Sunrise is another ballad, but this one has far more about it than Your Name and once more proves the promise LACED IN LUST have. It’s probably the weakest track on the second half, but that’s nothing to be ashamed about given the strength of those songs, and it’s better than the whole of the first half too.

There is certainly a great band inside LACED IN LUST, that much is clear; it’s just a shame that First Bite takes so long to get going. With a little more caution thrown to the wind and a significant reduction in the amount of tracks and album length, future releases will swagger where this debut effort has stumbled.

Rating: 5/10

First Bite is out now via Rockshots Records. 

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