The Flaming Sideburns

In a music scene being overrun with well-coifed but ultimately empty outfits, the Flaming Sideburns are a refreshing blast of rock & roll power. Although they've released a few records abroad (including the split with Sweden's Hellacopters that got it all started), Save Rock 'n' Roll marks the Finnish/Argentinean outfit's stateside debut. While it would be easy to write the band off as merely being part of the latest wave of Scandinavian rockers to hit the shore, the truth of the matter is that the Sideburns sound less like coattail riders, and more like the cooler, more sophisticated older brothers of groups like the Hives and the Soundtrack of Our Lives. The Sideburns explode out of the speakers with levels of swagger, raw power, and rock & roll cockiness generally reserved for outfits like the Rolling Stones. With a passion that borders on sermonizing, the band tears through three blistering tracks of timeless rock (like Nuggets pumped up to 11), before throwing the listener a pleasant curve with the laid-back "Flowers." Whereas the majority of the album is all about ass-shakin' rock, "Flowers" shows that the Flaming Sideburns have some Velvet Underground records mixed in with their Stooges, Sonics, MC5, and Stones albums. In fact, were it not for the traces of his Argentinean accent, Eduardo "Speedo" Martinez could pass for a Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, or Ian Astbury amalgam on several tracks. Much to their credit, Flaming Sideburns recapture the feeling of what rock & roll was like in its early stages: soul music for disenchanted, heartbroken outcasts, instead of the college-boy barrage of one-liners and in-jokes that it has become. Primal and beautiful, this record may indeed live up to its title. ~ Karen E. Graves, All Music Guide