The Maharajas: Rock ‘n’ Roll Graduates – Album Review

The Maharajas: Rock ‘n’ Roll Graduates

(Chaputa!)

LP | DL

Out 25th December 2022

Sweden’s The Maharajas return, just in time for your Christmas stocking, with a stomping new album of garage-rock ‘n’ roll.

Sliding in on a vibrato-fuelled run down, The Maharajas announce their return in style on Another Lover, the opening song on their new album Rock ‘n’ Roll Graduates. It shimmies along on a rolling garage-rock groove, pure 60s harmonies that glisten over the top of a rollicking start that juts and spits an infectious rhythm. God damn, it’s good to have them back!

That garage-revival sound, full of fuzz and jabs of guitar that spark life into the songs over pounding drums continues, much akin to The Cynics in the way they pay homage to the Nuggets’ greats comes through clearly on the following Don’t Need You Baby. What a festive gift they’re giving us, and not a sleighbell in sight, as they rollick through the tunes, firing out spitfire solos along the way.

Just Another Face sees rhythm Guitarist Jens taking over on vocal duties, adding that smokey gravelled drawl that recalls Sexton Ming while I’m On My Way pushes the organ to the fore on a surging dark garage-psych number. While much of the album is packed with cranked-to-the-max party garage rock, the shift adds another shade, an uneasy respite and a chance to breathe as the first side plays out.

Flip the record and they launch into the second side with one of the standout songs on the album, the title track itself, which adds a dose of soul groove into the mix. Top stuff indeed. I Got Away brings a ramped-up Stepping Stone feel, with some great lead guitar licks that cut through in the few moments where the vocals are not pulling you into the dance. They bring back that psychier vibe on the snaking A Dawn Without A Sun, but take care as the danger is there still, especially when they kick into the chorus.

By the time they’re closing out with You Know He Did, a wonderful homage to The Hollies and The Attack, The Maharajas have taken you on one hell of a garage journey. Rock ‘n’ Roll Graduates is a fantastic return from the band. Get it in your Christmas party playlists now!

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Words by Nathan Whittle. Find his Louder Than War archive here.

Nathan also presents From The Garage on Louder Than War Radio every Tuesday at 8pm. Tune in for an hour of fuzz-crunching garage rock ‘n’ roll and catch up on all shows on the From The Garage Mixcloud playlist.

Source: louderthanwar.com