De La Cruz – Street Level

It may be 2013, and they may hail from the Gold Coast of Australia, but De La Cruz look and sound just like they’ve stepped out of a strip bar somewhere off LA’s Sunset Boulevard sometime back in the mid- to late-80s.

‘Street Level’ is very much from the Ratt school of sleaze rawk, with vocalist Roxxi Catalano sounding like a cross between Stephen Pearcy and a mature Mike Tramp, with elements of Joe Elliott – the latter a comparison most painfully brought out on the Leppard-esque ‘Gimme Love’ (and,yes, those who know me know I hate the Def ones with a passion beyond words).

It’s an album which has no pretensions, wears its influences very much on its front cover and pays very clear homage to an era its five exponents (the band is completed by guitarists Casey Jones and Rory Joy, bassist Grant Daniell and drummer Lacey Lane, all of whom turn in excellent performances) would obviously very much like to have experienced first hand.  From the Poison-ous romp of the opening title track and follow-up ‘Girls Go Wild’, the arena-filling anthemics of ‘Legions Of Love’, the Autograph and White Lion  referencing ‘Dreaming’, the Black N Blue groove of  ‘Invincible’ , the 21st century take on their heritage that is ‘Worlds Collide’ and the pure fun of the Kix-like ‘S.E.X.’, this is an album with its roots very firmly planted in a life-affirming era yet holding out hope for a re-emergence of the same…

Track list:

1. Street Level
2. Girls Go Wild
3. Turn It Up
4. Legions Of Love
5. Gimme Love
6. Cherry Bomb
7. Dreaming
8. Invincible
9. Worlds Collide
10. S.E.X.
11. Set The Night On Fire
12. Shine

‘Street Level’ is out now on Frontiers Records.

Find out more at the band’s official website, http://www.delacruzofficial.com/, or follow them on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/DeLaCruzAustralia