As I scratch my head wondering where to pitch my thoughts I hear a little country honk on ‘Refills’ that veers from a little ragged Teenage Fanclub to a coating of Neil young without really sounding like either if that makes any sense? Anyway ‘My Dark Roots’ is more of the same with s great driving beat there is an undercurrent of Neil Young Rockin out to proceedings.  Maybe this is more Pavement kinda indie doing 70’s rock n roll but I  guess it’s fair to say there is an element of all the above in here.

‘Howler’ is like a long lost Alice Cooper Band track its got a slightly dreamy coating as it awkwardly glides through the airwaves. The great thing about this album is I’m not sure where the next one is heading and so the journey begins and meanders down the river of rock n roll Sometimes through babbling calmer water and sometimes heading downstream at pace with a bit of fire. ‘Twister Sister’ being a good case in point as it flows with a slight galic undertow its almost as if it’s been here before as it plays with your head.  The underlying point is you won’t switch off and you’re in it for the long haul as you settle down for the rest of the journey.

‘Cold Case’ sounds like it could have been played by the Waterboys once upon a time and again on the albums closing number ‘Nice And Slow’ the devil is in the detail as the sparse arrangement of a cotton picking guitar takes the lead with the laid back drum beat ushering in a fiddle that has a real calming effect on me as another really interesting track unfolds up until the Roger Whitaker whistling enters the room and I’m stopped in my tracks as the song heads down a Crosby, Stills and Nash melody which I wasn’t expecting and didn’t enjoy which is a shame but I can always head back to the top and get my rock on with ‘Sleep Rock’.

Eight out of nine isn’t bad going at all and the opening half of this record is really good and at times they sail pretty close to Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth especially on ‘Girl In Chicago’ from the arrangement to the melody even the sound is similar and that’s always going to grab my attention.  A thoroughly enjoyable record with lyrics I wanted to hear and stories I felt obliged to give my full attention to now that’s not something you hear all the time and with enough of a curio edge to make it really interesting. Great rock n roll doesn’t always have to be conventional it can come in all shapes and sizes and to be fair I’m now going to investigate further to find out what Bohannons are all about.

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Author: Dom Daley