In the 40 years since the Glaswegian band’s second album Gallus graced the UK Top 10, Gun have stalled and rebuilt more than once.
Even since 2010 – when it dawned on the Gizzi brothers that the new singer their band needed had been in the band all along, called Dante and playing bass alongside his sibling guitarist Jools – studio albums have been so-so. But, finally, Hombres sounds like a band remembering where they buried the treasure.
The opening salvo of All Fired Up, Boys Don’t Cry (featuring a neat solo by new guitarist ‘Ru’ Macfarlane), the thumping Take Me Back Home and Fake Life are all classic Gun. Inevitably, that suggests Jools and Dante are guilty of re-framing their first three albums – but easy to forgive because Hombres sparkles.
Maybe we didn’t need three bonus tracks added to the 10 nominated strongest, but even track 12, Wrong To Be Right, is joyously infectious
