The Answer

“The four hard blues boys know their business well with an assault that was delivered with smart writing and true-believers swagger. It’s a robust calling card for their live vibe and for the second album,” wrote legendary rock critic David Fricke in his Rolling Stone review of The Answer’s 2008 SXSW performance.

There are moments in life when even the most hard-nosed music experts have to catch their breath with excitement. They have heard a lot, seen a lot – and probably forgotten most of it quickly. But somehow everything seems different about newcomer rock act, The Answer, from Northern Ireland: although you clearly feel their influences (mainly legends such as Free, Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes and Cream), you immediately sense this ambitioned band’s great independence and unconditional topicality. Nothing sounds stale or cribbed; which is a feat in itself, because the foundation of their compositions unmistakably lie in traditional hard rock which has delighted the masses again and again over the years.

The Answer’s songs sound so timeless and fresh that you could assume there’s some kind of secret recipe or hidden trick behind them. Yet the band’s recipe for success appears to be amazingly simple: “Everything we do is basically thoroughly honest”, guitarist Paul Mahon describes the band’s philosophy. “We’re a real team and draw our power from an indestructible inner strength. We jam together at the rehearsal room, combine the ideas of all band members, and the four of us stick together like glue.”

But what exactly is it that makes this band’s sound? First of all, there’s vocalist Cormac Neeson. An exceptional talent with a smoky, expressive voice and sensational live performance. Once Neeson gets going, the term ‘vitality’ takes on a whole new meaning. This man has everything that makes a real rock shouter of the type the international music scene comes up with perhaps once or twice in a decade. Paul Mahon plays an impressive guitar, clearly inspired by blues and rhythm’n’blues. His slide solos are among the hottest since Paul Kossoff, his licks and hooks ooze pure energy. Bassist Micky Waters and drummer James Heatley support Cormac Neeson and Paul Mahon as an excellent rhythm group who give structure to The Answer’s material with their driving grooves. Impossible not to move every muscle when these four Irishmen start to rock.

The Answer got together in spring 2000, signed a contract with the legendary Australian rock label, Albert Productions, in 2005 and brought out their debut album, ‘Rise’, in 2006. “It took us three or four years to really get noticed,” Paul Mahon explains, “but then it all started to happen at once.”

The band have performed with icons such as the Rolling Stones, The Who, AC/DC and Aerosmith, playing celebrated headlining tours in England, Japan and Australia. Rise was greeted enthusiastically by fans and media alike (Kerrang! commented: “The Answer are superstars already”) and has sold more than 100,000 copies to date.

March 2008  saw the arrival of The Answer’s second album, ‘Everyday Demons’, a masterpiece full of empathy and classic references. “When you listen to the new songs, you’ll discover more or less a cross section of our private record collections,” comments Mahon. “Everything we like and much more can be discovered on Everyday Demons. This album has a flair that only an Irish band could produce.” For eleven tight rock numbers, from the opener, ‘Demon Eyes’, which appears to be bursting at the seams, to the final track, ‘Evil Man’, with its furioso mouth organ solo, there’s classic rock music with a contemporary attitude and typical rock’n’roll themes. “Naturally, our lyrics are mostly about beautiful women, the fun we have with our music and other important experiences in life,” Mahon grins ambiguously.

See them perform on the Classic Rock stage at the High Voltage Festival.

http://www.theanswer.ie/