HIGH HOPES
Meet the blues rockers taking inspiration from the originals and keeping things raw and simple.
Silveroller aren’t here to start a revolution. The UK-based Gen-Z blues rockers are a proudly traditional band, with a bone-deep appreciation for “rock’n’roll in its purest form”. At the heart of their sound is a need for simplicity; a back-to-basics, no-frills approach that’s not a rehash of the past, but an extension of it.
“It’s not a maths equation, it’s rock’n’roll,” says frontman Jonnie Hodson, talking about Silveroller’s new EP At Dawn, a patchouli-spiced, groove-flushed feast of feverish blues rock, soaked in whisky at its edges.
Blues pioneers such as Muddy Waters, Freddie King and Albert Collins, as well as Led Zeppelin, are echoed within Silveroller’s folksy stylings and soulful melodies. “We’re going to that original well where rock’n’roll came from,” Hodson explains. “There’s not many bells and whistles; it’s raw.” They’re also strong advocates of recording live in the studio, where trapping bum notes is all part of the magic. “What made Johnny Cash as rock’n’roll as AC/DC or Black Sabbath was the attitude and rawness,” adds guitarist Aaron Keylock. “It’s capturing that and not losing it.”
Despite only being in their mid-20s, Silveroller are not new to the scene. In 2017 Keylock appeared in Classic Rock as a solo artist. Not satisfied with that centre-stage role, he sought out a band. “Growing up, I wanted what Tom Petty had [with The Heartbreakers],” he says. “I wanted that brother.”
