Glaswegian rockers Gun return with their 9th studio LP “Hombres”, and it features some of their best work to date.

The pressure was really on to see if they could maintain the momentum of 2017’s Favourite Pleasures (which cracked the UK Top 20), and it makes me happy to announce that Gun have delivered once again!

This album somehow manages to re-capture all of the things which made its predecessor so great and push them to the Nth degree, resulting in a rip-roaring listen from barnstorming opener All Fired Up to singalong finale A Shift In Time.

Fans of the band will be delighted to hear it also keeps the “heaviness” of their more recent work, too, because this enables Gun to do what they’ve always done best: fucking rock out!

Each of the ten tracks here is tight and direct, with only two venturing over the 4-minute mark.

That’s not to say this is a simple record, though, as frontman Dante Gizzi discusses a range of serious topics including social media addiction, mental health, bitter break-ups, and the frustrations of “lockdown 2020”.

Indeed, Gun’s ability to cover such topics in this “get in then get out” style is rather impressive, and Gizzi possesses the enchanting skill of being able to condense his lyrics in a way that provides them enough weight to hit the listener like a bag of bricks to the side of the head.

“I never though a fool would try to run,
I’ve made enough mistakes you’d think I’d learn,
I’m trying to fill the void I feel inside.”

ALL FIRED UP

Each member of Gun receives time to shine on Hombres.

From Paul McManus’ thunderous drumbeat on standout track Never Enough, to Andy Carr’s pummelling bass-line which underpins Take Me Back Home, to new rhythm guitarist Ru Moy slapping an endlessly re-playable riff on You Are What I Need, and the aforementioned Gizzi’s strained vocals on the stunning Falling.

However, it’s lead guitarist Jools Gizzi who steals the show. The axeman rips into his guitar in a way we haven’t seen since the mid-90s, delivering several solos that’ll make the hairs on your arms stand up straight. Each one is precise and impactful, elevating the songs to a level which surpasses much of Gun’s previous work. It’s very apparent that you’re listening to a guitarist at the peak of his powers, such is the way he gleefully climbs up the fretboard in the 1-2 seconds before each solo, with all the enthusiasm of a kid who’s about to tear open a present on Christmas morning, before dropping an absolute face-melter on his listeners!

Take a bow, son. Take a bow.

The low points of Hombres are few and far between, but nothing is perfect.

For example, the running order of the album could’ve been significantly better if it were shuffled a little (I’ve sorted this out below), and we must say the mental health track Boys Don’t Cry pulls the band too far away from their trademark rock sound (think; if The Stone Roses hired Axl Rose), although it’s almost saved by another killer guitar solo.

Finally, there’s the simultaneous joy and disappointment of Falling which, on the one hand is a majestic track which can sit alongside the band’s best work, but ultimately frustrates the listener by ending far too soon. It seems to be building to a huge crescendo as Jools Gizzi unleashes a second Slash-tastic guitar solo in the latter half of the song, but producer Simon Bloor fades out the track out before they can fully pull the ripcord on their parachute.

Lead single Take Me Back Home stands tall as the best song on the disc.

Upon first listen it draws comparisons with Steal Your Fire from the band’s second album Gallus (1992), but just as you’re about to accuse Gun of ripping off, err, Gun it opens up into the best chorus they have ever written. It’ll go down as one of the best songs of 2024, and Hombres will follow suit as one of the best rock albums in recent memory.

This album cracked the UK Top 10 (their first since 1994’s Swagger), then landed them the soundtrack to Samuel L. Jackson’s Prime Video sleeper hit “Damaged”, and then they were rightly awarded the prestigious “Album Of The Year” at the 2024 Scottish Music Awards.

Gun have surpassed themselves here, and Hombres is well worth a listen!

In summary:

Scottish rockers Gun have produced one of the standout albums of the year in Hombres. It’s their first UK Top 10 album in 30 years, and we promise it’ll grab you from start to finish!

Hombres receives 9/11.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★