Pontiak: Innocence

Virginia’s Carney brothers rock hauntingly on seventh album.

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Bitter break-ups, good and bad drugs and the Book of Revelations

Wide-open rustic space has been cleared around an ongoing hardcore sense of urgency. Psychedelic effects shimmer around Shining, which feels epic but lasts for two minutes, while Wildfires ploughs steadily on through emotional wreckage and blood-deep beliefs.

Darkness Is Coming could be 60s soul sung by a double-tracked Lennon, adding to the subtle variety. ‘We drank too much/They said good luck,’ the brothers sing on Lack Lustre Rush between staccato, bullet-point guitar.

Their spare southern rock has a Gothic stoner mystery all of its own.

Nick Hasted

Nick Hasted writes about film, music, books and comics for Classic Rock, The Independent, Uncut, Jazzwise and The Arts Desk. He has published three books: The Dark Story of Eminem (2002), You Really Got Me: The Story of The Kinks (2011), and Jack White: How He Built An Empire From The Blues (2016).