Here’s an incredible success story. Twins Jake and Josh Kiszka were 21 in 2017 when their group Greta Van Fleet caught the world’s attention.
The Michigan band – with third brother Sam Kiszka on bass and pal Danny Wagner on drums – caught on fast. They won a Grammy in 2018, their second album – 2021’s The Battle Of Garden Gate – went Top 10 here, and they’ve amassed 2.3 billion streams. It’s easy to see why.
Between them, the foursome have rebooted the 1970s. Specifically, the lads have reinvented Led Zeppelin for a new generation.
Jake channels Jimmy Page’s genius for riff creation (or appropriation) and singer Josh is like a young Robert Plant.
Their third album – co-produced with Grammy-winner Dave Cobb – ventures further into the prog rock end of yesteryear with expansive numbers like Sacred The Thread which grows from a prowling bluesy start into an arena-friendly epic of mysticism and rhubarb.
Meeting The Master starts sublimely, like Led Zep at their folkiest, and swells halfway through into a huge satirical anthem. The ‘Master’ is a cult leader, seen through the eyes of a devout believer, and the punchline is dark, with Josh singing “Blow it all up, to give him all of our love”.
Hard-rocking songs, like the short, sharp, groaningly heavy Runway Blues are few and frustratingly far between.
Stomping banger The Indigo Streak feels closest to classic rock while Frozen Light, powered by a lurching riff, is genuinely unsettling.
Mid-tempo The Falling Sky has some fine spine-tingling Plant screams but not much of a hook.
It ends with the laidback Farewell For Now, their grateful thank you to their legions of youthful fans.
They’ve come a mighty long way from Frankenmuth, Michigan, and odds-on they’ll go a whole lot further.
