In 2016, British rock band Pearl Handled Revolver released ‘If The Devil Casts His Net’, an excellent album of dark rock tunes taking in influence from The Doors, with a swathe of riffs from Queens of The Stone Age and a pinch of early Deep Purple. They’d released material prior to this, but this record is where their brand of retro rock really came into its own. Over the course of the years that followed, the band played a huge number of gigs – even appearing on the bill for the A New Day Festival in 2023 as support for Caravan, Ozric Tentacles and System 7 (the electronica duo featuring the legendary Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy) – and released a couple more albums.

Their 2025 release, ‘Tales You Lose’ doesn’t skimp in terms of retro riffs. The band have retained their very clear love of early 70s rock sounds, but if anything have learned to deliver their material in a slightly sharper way. That’s evident during ‘Gilding The Lily’, a full on rocker driven by a busy drum part courtesy of Chris Thatcher, peppered with stabs of organ during the opening part of the track. The hard edged, rhythmic style immediately highlights how tight Pearl Handled Revolver are as a unit, and even though this relies far more on mood over immediate hooks, the melody that’s shared is fantastic. When really cutting loose, huge swirling guitar lines bring more of a hard rock sound, and vocalist Lee Vernon is given the unenviable task of holding everything together with a whiskey soaked vocal. In terms of serving something that sounds like Vanilla Fudge fused with ‘Heritage’ era Opeth, this does a fine job, while still giving fans something that sounds like the Revolver in full flow.

Also in terms of highlights, the pre-release single ‘Space Invader’ works brilliantly as part of a larger body of work. It’s a number that’s absolutely loaded with busy riffs and almost funky bass moments, but at the heart of the rocky number, you’ll find some familiar traits. Firstly, there’s a huge organ presence which very obviously tips the hat to classic Deep Purple. Although this only puts in intermittent appearances, it ensures the band’s old-school heart pumps furiously. Then, of course, there’s Vernon’s distinctive lead vocal, which serves a massive croon as if he’s the direct descendant of the much missed Mark Lanegan. From the moment the main riff hits, this is a track that doesn’t let up. The musical collision between the keys and the dual guitar work creates a perfect storm of 70s infused rock, and even with a less than pristine production, it’s the kind of track that conveys a great energy. Falling somewhere between middle period Queens of The Stone Age and 70s relics like Zior, this is pretty much guaranteed to thrill extant fans. It’s also the kind of enthusiastic performance that could bring new listeners to the fold, so for Pearl Handled Revolver, it’s definitely a track that deserves to become one of their signature pieces.

Nestled alongside these rockier tunes, long time fans will also find material that leans further into atmospheric sounds. On that score, album opener, the ten-minute epic ‘Black Rock’ doesn’t sell anyone short. There are moments within the huge soundscape that are obviously derived from The Doors – reinforced by Vernon adopting a bellow that’s clearly inspired by Jim Morrison circa 1970 – but there are deeper psychedelics colouring the quieter riffs, with wheezing keys and various effects pedals serving up a hazy feel. These mellow vibes are very much driven by a perfectly executed circular bass riff colliding with jazzy piano work lurking beneath layers of light droning sound, very much harking back to the early 70s, but naturally, the extended running time is home to some great harder edged moments too. When hitting full volume, guitarist Andy Paris shares huge, blues drenched lead work that sounds so authentic, it would be impossible to put a date on his performance, and in a final twist, keyboardist Simon Rinaldo tops a swaggering groove with an organ solo worthy of an early 70s Peter Bardens. There’s nothing here that sounds remotely contemporary for 2025, and there are a lot of listeners – whether extant fans or new arrivals to the PHR fold – that’ll absolutely love this for that reason.

The equally epic ‘Junkies’ places more of a focus on deep organ work and an aggressive fuzz bass, delivering punchy hard rock riffs over melodies that draw from an Arabic sound. The main riff attacks like a Queens of The Stone Age deep cut crossed with an old Hawkwind mindbender or two – there are definitely echoes of ‘Brainstorm’ and a couple of other ‘In Search of Space’ era riffs influencing the groove – but those who’ve spent time with the band will still recognise Chris and Simon’s confident tones. In some ways, there’s a more effective four minute track here – and, indeed, ‘Junkies’ was edited down for a single release, bringing a great riff further into focus – but for those hoping to lose themselves within a very retro sounding world, this will certainly be considered one of the album’s strongest tunes, despite the drawn out feel in places.

Working within a far more economical style, ‘Hammer’ presents a superb organ riff against a slightly jazzy drum part, again, sharing a hint of The Doors via a shamelessly old school sound topped by a gruff vocal. If anything, though, the pre-metal, post-psych sound captures more of a perfect homage to the later Eric Burdon and The Animals circa ’68, at which time Burdon had abandoned the blues and R&B to share something much darker. Again, this actually sounds like newly discovered buried treasure from the past; the very natural, antidigital production sound and reverb drenched guitar lines sound like a perfect artefact from a bygone era, and Vernon’s vocal – partly growled, partly spoken – sounds like the ultimate messenger for an America caught up within the horrors of the Viet Nam war, and heading for dark political times, despite being a lad from Bedfordshire making his voice heard in 2025. Elsewhere, another jazz infused drum part leads the charge on ‘Lightning’, a number that takes PHR’s Doors obsessions to extremes. There are moments where the bass and keys appear to want to drop into ‘Riders On The Storm’ at any moment, and Lee’s croon reaches a little closer to something decidedly Morrison-esque. Despite flaunting their influence like a mallet, though, there’s a flair within the musicianship that ensures nothing sounds tired and, the way the lead guitar calls out over the groove with an almost siren-like clarity gives the album another musical highlight.

This is an album that, at times, captures a more direct sounding band than their earliest fans experienced on ‘Devil…’, and it also shows a band who’ve massively grown in terms of confidence. Wherever you choose to drop in, ‘Tales You Lose’ showcases Pearl Handled Revolver in a very strong manner. In the case of ‘Black Rock’ and ‘Hammer’, there’s even a musical power suggesting that, in terms of retro sounds, they’re one of the most assured acts lurking within the UK’s musical underground. A highly recommended listen.

April 2025