The Swigs are a rock trio hailing from Tucson, Arizona and this, their debut album, is chock-full of riffs and a classic live 3-piece sound filled out by big full chords the mainstay of guitarists like Alex Lifeson, Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend.

Overdubs are minimal, but when they are used, the space and integrity of the 3-piece sound remains intact.

Singer and guitarist Kevin Henderson excels more as a lead guitarist than as a lead vocalist. Still, comparisons can be drawn with other beloved guitarists who have also been known to step up to the mic like Ace Frehley and Ty Tabor. The overall feel can come across as being akin to Rich Robinson's solo effort 'Paper' in that respect - plenty of great guitar but possibly lacking that killer edge in the vocal department.

'Ploughed In The Stars' has a long instrumental intro à la Dixie Dregs that segues into the traditional folk song 'Jack Of Diamonds'. If you substituted Henderson's vocals with those of Pete Townsend then it really could be a song from 'Tommy'. That goes double for the layered acoustic pickings of next track 'Everybody's Saying' which has cuttingly clean electrified chords punctuating the chorus.

'Outlaws In' is a musical theme that would've been at home on Tommy Vance's The Friday Rock Show. It brings together the feel of Dixie Dregs' 'Take It Off The Top', Iron Maiden's 'Transylvania' and Schenker's 'Into the Arena'. 'Remember' meanwhile starts off with a killer groove with some excellent Jimmy Page-like rhythm but the song as a whole doesn't capitalise on this early build up of good faith. As soon as the vocals come in sadly the Zeppelin illusion is gone.

'Freak Flag' continues with a 1978-era Ace Frehley sound to it, albeit with more interesting chord work. There's also a fledgling King's X potential to it but it's quite hard to pick out those half-buried vocals in the mix. But still, it has a tasty solo with a great tone. 'Imaginary Western I and II' tops off the album, and in part II you get another instrumental, although this one sounds as if it's been recorded completely live.

Summing 'Let It Come Down' up as an album then, I'd say the lead guitar sounds great on its own, but the overall production on the album is just a little lacking and as a result impacts on the overall power of the songs. With a bit more spit and glue in the studio however The Swigs really should start to fly.

www.myspace.com/theswigs

http://www.sapientrecords.com/