Backstreet Girls – ‘In Lust We Trust’ (Indie Recordings)

Backstreet Girls – ‘In Lust We Trust’ (Indie Recordings)

Ok folks sit up pay attention set your volume control at a respectably loud setting and pour yourself a cold one before slipping this bad boy on the turntable. Backstreet Girls are in the house and they are showing no sign of mellowing out or slowing down. From the get-go the boogie is set on the max and this Norwegian powerhouse is up for the gig.

This is the band’s 16th studio record since their 1984 debut and with the motto of If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, they boogie n Roll the living shit out of these ten songs. ‘Beef Chop Suicide’ gets proceedings underway with that familiar Petter Baarli raw overdriven tone and whisky and no filter cigarette rasp of Bjørn Müllers cool vocals the song ushers in the album by blowing off the doors rather than gently easing the listener in. Hell, the full-fat production from Stamos Koliousis is perfect for the DC meets Stones tones these boys love to knock out. It’s bullshit free baby and they’re up for a good time and not a long time. ‘Waste Side Story’ is bruising but the thunderous shuffle of ‘Boogie Woman’ (of course that’s what it is called) is like being clubbed over the head by a Les Paul and the guitar break at the end kind of stops which is a bit weird I wanted it to continue my tennis racket wasn’t finished yet and I was looking to do a knee slide for a finale. Shit, that is one dirty tone Baarli is chopping up on ‘Too Cool For You’ as the band eases back for one sloppy dorty fucker of a song, and who isn’t going to dig that riff on the chorus before easing back into the verse, quality overload beware anyone feeling a little feeble this might be too tough for you.

Sure theres nothing original going on here nothing at all its just a cadalac of style with the best sounding stereo on the strip ‘Sister Satan’ is a brooding beast of a song cruising round impressing the shit out of any impressionable young man or woman. The quality of whats on offer is right up there and ‘Norma Jean’ is like Lemmy fronting Cheap Trick using AC/DC’s equipment to impress a particularly good-looking lady.

The next few tunes are all about that guitar tone with ‘Rocky Lee’ cooking up a bitches brew that’s made with equal parts gasolene and gunpowder the licks n fills are fantastic at volume and on headphones it’s like being in the room as the band strikes up a chord knowing exactly how damn good at this they are.

Before we’re done ‘Not Sorry At All’ is a blast of fist-pumping before ‘Doomday Hell’ is a purposeful thump on the drums and the gang vocals to close it out are spot on, so put on your shades, buckle up the leather trousers and pour another cold one Backstreet Girls are dishing up a Rockin good time (of course they are) and it’s fantastic to hear a band just rockin out because that’s what they love hearing and nobody is gonna tell them there is anything cooler than this. Top band, Top album, Top class. Buy yourself ‘In Lust We Trust’ and rock the fuck out – you’re worth it.

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Author: Dom Daley

Philip Seth Campbell – ‘City Lights’ (Assai Records)

Philip Seth Campbell – ‘City Lights’ (Assai Records)

The former frontman of The Temperance Movement returns after a tumultuous period in his life with a solo album that has been decades in the making. Musical differences and personal issues saw the gravelly-throated singer leave not only The Temperance Movement in 2020, but also last year he parted ways with The Byson Family, the band he left to form and concentrate on.

But following a series of acoustic shows and a recent EP release, Philip has exorcised whatever demons he was carrying and is back stronger than ever with his debut long player.

Seeking redemption and filled with retrospection ‘City Lights’ is a journey of a storyteller who explores new territories while tipping his worn and tattered hat towards his past glories throughout its 12-track length. There’s a self-assured confidence and a sense of rejuvenation to leading track and first single ‘Magical West’ that sees Philip shed the heavy rock and americana leanings of his previous bands and embrace a more commercial and eclectic direction. Upbeat and euphoric in equal measures, it has a Springsteen style power and delivery with a rousing chorus that will excite the listener and induce goosebumps as well as repeated plays.

‘City Lights’ is an album filled with unexpected directions that take you on a definite journey. The liberating ‘Hasta Luego’ is a tale of eloping to Mexico, and you are with him on the road as he invites you to “get away through LA and San Diego”. Sound wise, with urgent beats and stabs of keys it builds like Hothouse Flowers to a rousing chorus worthy of Butch Walker.

The mellower, more soulful moments such as ‘Revelation’ and ‘Break The Curse’ nod their heads to Van Morrison with gospel-tinged backing vocals, brass and stabs of piano to accompany the stunning vocal delivery.

The needle drops on side two for the funky title track with a blast of horns, crisp drum beats and gospel harmonies, coming on like an outtake from The Black Crowes sophomore long player meets Paolo Nutini, and that ain’t a bad place to be. But if there is any one song that would be a showcase for Phil’s vocal prowess on this album, I would probably go for the celebration that is ‘Soul Fire’. The performance here exudes confidence, power and depth and just seems to flow perfectly. A killer guitar solo adds some fire. It’s worth noting that considering he plays most of the instruments and self-produced this album, it has a very ‘live in the studio’, full band sound.

Elsewhere, ‘Silent Symphony’ mixes up americana and soul with sweeping strings and gospel backing to create a heart-wrenching, cinematic soundscape. And that is something that continues on the honest and confessional ‘Sober Boy’.

He may have left TTM to get away from the screamers, but closer ‘Gut City Blues’ leaves us with a reminder of his past. Killer riffs and even more killer vocals give us a whiff of AC/DC meets Ike & Tina goodness, plus the addition of founding TTM guitarist Luke Potashnick, who turns of to lay down a tasty solo. A glorious rocker that is sure to be a live favourite when he hits the road later this year.

While I was saddened when he left TTM and The Byson Family, Philip Seth Campbell has risen like a phoenix from the flames and delivered an album that exceeds all expectations. ‘City Lights’ is an instantly familiar album that is hard to not fall in love with from the very first listen. With enough rockers, ballads and ravers to satiate his fanbase, it exudes the confidence and charisma of a songwriter who has been around the block and has lived to tell the tale.

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Author: Ben Hughes

C.O.F.F.I.N – ‘Australia Stops’ (Bad Vibrations)

C.O.F.F.I.N – ‘Australia Stops’ (Bad Vibrations)

If you prefer the US re-dubbed version of Mad Max, George Miller’s 1979 post-apocalyptic vision of the future, then hit the homepage button now, because C.O.F.F.I.N are about as Australian as every millimetre of Mick “Two Fingers” Simpson’s beer belly. Just take one look at the front cover of ‘Australia Stops’, the band’s fifth album to date, and there’s no disputing these madmen from the Northern Beaches of Sydney really do suffer for their art. I mean who has a mullet in 2023? Well, other than the members of Rough Gutts, obviously. (Ha!)

Yeah, these four guys are like a Cosmic Psychos and Asteroid B-612 jam band playing Bea Smith’s birthday bash at Boggo Road Jail, that’s how bloody Australian they are, and they sound totally bloody bonza too! Just take one listen to the album’s opening track (and lead video) ‘Give Me A Bite’ and tell me I’m wrong.  The opening guitar licks of this track slap you straight across the face before vocalist and drummer Ben Portnoy (no relation…I hope) literally spits the song’s lyrics in it too. There’s something very Hip Priests-like about the “spit in my wounds” refrain too, and that’s certainly no bad thing, eh pop pickers? 

I must admit that when the band released their ‘Children In Finland Fighting In Norway’ (think about it) album a few back, I was already balls deep into a playlist featuring the likes of Stiff Richards, Private Function and Civic, so that record’s dozen tracks kind of passed me by, but here in 2023 with no such distractions to take my (bonk) eye off the C.O.F.F.I.N shaped prize, I’m all about the mullet maaaaan.

‘Cut You Off’ reminds me of just how great Airbourne used to be before they recorded the same album four times over, mixing the Rose Tattoo riffage with Motorhead attitude to absolute perfection. ‘City Sun’ meanwhile appears to be an ode to a man with the head of a horse, so I’m always going to love it aren’t I?

‘Keep It Dark’ and ‘Lovers Leash’ quickly follow and continue this four to the floor approach before ‘Beasts’ chugs its harp beating black heart past the record’s midway point, and I can’t help but think of Stevie Young’s old band Starfighters and their classic debut album every time I hear this one.   

For the second half of ‘Australia Stops’ the album’s title track introduces us to a further five song knuckle sandwich of punch drunk rock ‘n’ roll, the highlight of which (for me anyway) is the blistering one – two of ‘Through The Sewer’ and ‘Faceless’ a fine duo of tunes for the children of Generation Z to truly lose their shit over, just like they have been to the likes of Amyl & The Sniffers and The Chats.

Hotter than a rollin’ dice, C.O.F.F.I.N will hopefully be back soon to rule the roads of the UK (they did a run of shows back at the start of the summer) and promote ‘Australia Stops’ to the max, In the meantime we can all get excited about this mighty fine record hitting the record shop racks on September 15th.

Play it loud folks, PLAY IT LOUD!

You can pre-order ‘Australia Stops’ via the following link; http://coffin.lnk.to/AustraliaStops

Social links: Facebook / Instagram

Author: Johnny Hayward

The Hangmen – ‘Stories To Tell’ (Acetate Records)

The Hangmen – ‘Stories To Tell’ (Acetate Records)

I always get excited when I hear news trickling through the grapevine that Californias Bryan Smalls has assembled The Hangmen to record some new music and when I got the PR to say ‘Stories To Tell’ was indeed done and in the can, I couldn’t wait to get me some.

Getting straight to business, ‘Broken Heartland gets ‘Stories To Tell’ off to a flier with its solid tempo and some cool slide driving this Rocker onward and upwards. With some really nice solo work. With very little fanfare it’s on with the show and always a band who simply let the music do their talking. As far as openers go this is a thumper, no messing about just good honest Rock n Roll with a decent hook sweet playing and a melody on the chorus that locks in to your good vibe receptors of your brain making this addictive and oh so sweet.

Play on. With a nice round ten tracks on offer Smalls laid back exterior and style is no more aparent than ‘Midnight Riders’ with its widescreen vision as the sun drops out of the sky its such a quality tune. You’ve gotta love the melody as it battles with the music for what grabs you most but this is where The Hangmen sit best for me – it sounds effortlessly cool as you’re drawn in. They turn up the amps for ‘Last Time I Saw You’ as the riff chimes the band are rockin out here just cruising through the gears.

Another shift in tempo sees the laid back ‘On The Outside’ go country roots rock. The acoustic guitars are out and its time to sip a beer on the porch whilst the Rock n Roll eases back. Four songs deep and four sides to The Hangmen painting broad strokes with a thread throughout thats totally recognisable which isn’t easy to do. That Hangmen tone is what captures your attention. It’s raw as a seeping wound but sweet as honey, ‘Sinister Purpose’ hangs its melody on a big riff thats classic and modern but always quality. The cowbell is out on ‘Bayou Moon’ as Smalls leads his troops down a Stones rabit hole that oozes class. As the groove takes hold I’m gazing into the sky hoping we can all get some of this ‘Bayou Moon’. In fact The Stones are lurking in the DNA of Stories To Tell as the acoustic rocker of ‘Behind The Wheel’ will testify.

With a title track being a mid paced mid day rocker stretching itself out building to the chorus its just classic Hangmen and if you get it you’ll dig it and admire their class. Its a very impressive album with variety and moments left right and centre that purr with quality from the rockin opener to the almost baladlike ‘Runnin Kind’ that brings the curtain down on this excellent album. Don’t take my word for it. Head out there and pick up a copy or if you’re modern and like to stream then get on and pre save it so you can also marvel in the majesty that is the most excellent Hangmen. Winner!

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Author: Dom Daley

Marc Valentine Returns With New Single ‘Jinx of Finchley Road’ On Wicked Cool Records

Marc Valentine Returns With New Single ‘Jinx of Finchley Road’ On Wicked Cool Records

Marc Valentine, the unmistakably British singer-songwriter whose powerpop-fueled debut album was released last year to critical acclaim, returns with ‘Jinx Of Finchley Road’ – a digital single scheduled for release through Little Steven’s Wicked Cool Records.

Produced by Dave Draper (The Wildhearts, Ryan Hamilton, The Professionals), the song hints at nefarious and uncanny happenings in North London. Nostalgia and mystery meet in a basement full of hooks to create a single that sounds as if it was
plucked from the charts during the glory days of Britpop.

Having honed his craft over four albums with cult pop-rockers Last Great Dreamers, Valentine launched a solo career in 2022, his album ‘Future Obscure’ delighting fans and picking up praise from an array of publications.

‘Jinx Of Finchley Road’ marks his return to the spotlight, which looks set to grow even brighter through 2024.

Upcoming live dates 

Friday 15 September – Trillians, Newcastle 

Saturday 16 September – Fulford Arms, York

All links to buy and hear Marc Here

Website /Insta /Facebook

Diamond Dogs – ‘About The Hardest Nut To Crack’ (Wild Kingdom)

Diamond Dogs – ‘About The Hardest Nut To Crack’ (Wild Kingdom)

Sweden’s finest purveyors of honky tonk flavoured rock n’ roll return with a new long player, just over 18 months after the luscious double album offering ‘Slap Bang Blue Rendezvous’ hit the shelves.

It seems nothing can keep Sulo and the boys from delivering good time rock n’ roll like the last 6 decades of musical innovation never happened. The Faces meets The Stones is a good rut to be stuck in and we wouldn’t want it any other way, not when the songs are this good.

Written and recorded over an 8-day period and recorded in old school analogue, ‘About The Hardest Nut To Crack’ sees the Swedish band in fine form from the word go.

12 bar boogie blues is the name of the game with opener ‘Get A Rock n Roll Record’ and the message is as simple as the three-chord progression it rides on.

Next up ‘Blight The Life’ is one of those life affirming, instantly familiar Sulo melodies. You’ve know you’ve heard it before, but you’re not quite sure where. Was it Rod, Jagger or Monroe? Who knows, or even cares as a mournful fiddle leads us down an emotive road, one we love to frequent again and again.

The low-slung rock n’ roll of ‘Wring It Out’ has plenty of Faces swagger and it’s a raucous party that Sulo and the boys are jamming, with gospel-tinged backing vocals, stabs of keys and a certain boogie-woogie swagger.

There are earworms aplenty on offer. The likes of ‘Gurus and Gangsters’ and ‘Desiree, Yet Another Lonely Mile’ are pure euphoric nostalgia, and about as 70’s as listening to the top 40 run down whilst scoffing a Sunday roast. Songs that groove in a certain way and insist you turn up that dial and dance like no one is watching. 

Sulo’s reflective lyricism recalls the good times and the tight musicianship but loose delivery backs it all up in just the right way. The banjo action on ‘Old Timer’ gives a rustic, partisan feel that sits well with the low-slung guitars and gravelly vocals. The sloppy, but perfectly delivered solo as worn and weathered as the vintage gear it is played on.

The glam slam, foot-stomping closer ‘Rising From The Ruins Of Rock n Roll’ sees the band sign off by telling us to spin them records one more time and not to forget the reason they (and we) do this thing they call rock n’ roll anyway.

A new Diamond Dogs record is always cause for a celebration, and ‘The Hardest Nut To Crack’ does exactly what you would expect. Naysayers may argue that Sulo and the boys are doing nothing new and shock horror, may even be classed as ‘generic’, but you know what? Sometimes I want something familiar, something that doesn’t stray from the path and delivers exactly what I expect it to, and the Diamond Dogs do it every time. Get this rock n’ roll record, play it loud and spread the word. 

PRE-ORDER: https://orcd.co/hardest-nut-to-crack

Author: Ben Hughes

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http://www.facebook.com/everylittlecrack
https://wildkingdom.se/artists/diamond-dogs/

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Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live At Acton Town Hall (Dark Horse Records)

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live At Acton Town Hall (Dark Horse Records)

First released as a limited run for RSD this iconic and memorable show is captured for the masses on vinyl and streaming with exceptional sound compared to the ropey less than perfect bootlegs that were available.

Recorded on November 15, 2002, the concert was a benefit for striking firefighters and would be one of Joe’s last performances (he passed away a month later). The performance features a three-song reunion with Strummer’s former bandmate from The Clash, Mick Jones, who reunited on stage for the first time in almost twenty years. When I first dropped the needle on this I was awash with emotion as I heard Strummer’s voice and it weighed heavily on my mind for a while just thinking about how I’d never hear his voice again nor get the chance to see him perform. Man I loved the Clash and I loved his solo output listened to more than most in my collection over the years and hearing his mid-song banter here is emotional. Dropping the C Bomb on Simonon and Topper before ‘Police And Thieves’ makes me smile even after hearing it for the umpteenth time. The band Strummer had put together under the Mescaleros banner were always loose yet tight and usually nailed the songs, even the old Clash classics when they opened that particular war chest.

It has to be said that the remastering and production on this official version is exceptional and every instrument has its space when played loudly through a good set of monitors or headphones it’s exceptional what you can hear spilling out. If it’s overdubbed later on I know not but frankly, I don’t care either – it’s a moment in time and one tinged with sadness and glory. the Clash penned some of their generation’s finest tunes no question and Strummer’s solo output isn’t too shabby either but I guess this release is all about the reunion however fleeting and brief. I’m glad it happened and they got to share this moment together and that it was captured for everyone to enjoy.

‘Johnny Appleseed’ and ‘Coma Girl’ sit very nicely alongside ‘Police On My Back’ and ‘I Fought The Law’ but truth be told I’d have paid £30 just for the encore with Jones ‘Bank Robber’, ‘White Riot’ and the appropriate ‘Londons Burning’ are killer, no doubt about it sloppy but oh so sweet. Rest In Peace Joe your body is sorely missed but your soul lives on and on. Buy It!

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Author: Dom Daley

Velvet Insane – ‘High Heeled Monster’ (Wild Kingdom)

Velvet Insane – ‘High Heeled Monster’ (Wild Kingdom)

Swedish rockers release the retro rama-lama-retro album of the year. Put on your high heels and dust off the old TOTP albums the party is about to kick off.

Velvet Insane were formed in 2013 as a four piece outfit but by the time of their self titled debut album they were billed as a duo.

The first album took them around the world touring Europe, Japan, USA & Australia.

Their critically acclaimed debut was a fresh mix between classic rock, pop, inches of folk influences and it also contained traces of early 70’s British glam rock. And the band kept walking that glam track and now they’re back as a trio and this time it’s glam glitter boogie all over.

They hired the cult glamrockers Diamond Dogs frontman Sulo as a producer and together they’ve created a bright shining monster. You can hear the Sulo influence for sure in the epic opener ”Bamalama Breakout’ with all its mid seventies Glam rock n hollerbaloo going on its loud and proud and leaving you in no doubt that Rock and Roll is in the house now crack open the bubbly.

‘High Heeled Monster’ is certainly well titled if you’re looking for a description as to what this sounds like. ‘Boogie Star’ has a cowbell and a hoof footed Rock solid beat and big chorus its Mott The Hoople for the 21st Century and I’m down with that.

Smooth pop harmonies pumped up by heavy drums and barbed wire guitars and singer that wear it well. It brings back memories of a time when Slade, TREX, Bowie & Mott we’re topping the charts.

From the catchy singalong choruses of the pop gems “Velvet Tongue”, “Riding the Skyways” & “Sound of Sirens” to the frantic boogie energy in barroom stompers “Driving down the mountain”, “Backstreet Liberace” & “Spaceage DJ”, it’s the real thing.

You also get a glimpse of Ziggy Stardust in the acoustic ballad “Midnight sunshine serenade”.

Velvet Insane are a band that plays with their hearts on their sleeves and it’s satisfaction guaranteed.

Dregen and Nicke Andersson from The Hellacopters jumps in the backseat in “Backstreet Liberace” and just like Rolling Stones honored the tradition of Muddy Waters blues Velvet Insane takes on the job to keep rock ’n’ roll alive.

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Chris Shiflett – new album details

Chris Shiflett – new album details

NEW ALBUM
‘LOST AT SEA‘
OUT OCTOBER 20TH VIA SNAKEFARM (UK / IRELAND)
PRE-ORDER HERE

NEW SINGLE – ‘DAMAGE CONTROL’ Filmed around the UK from fan footage

Chris Shiflett has announced the release of his new album Lost At Sea, which will be coming out October 20th via Snakefarm in the UK & Ireland. Pre-order here.
 
To coincide with the announcement, he has released the sultry summer anthem ‘Damage Control’, which comes with a video of fan filmed footage from his triumphant sold-out UK headline tour earlier this year.
 
Most of the new album was recorded in Nashville, working with his producer and collaborator Jaren Johnston, frontman of The Cadillac Three, as well as the songwriter behind nearly a dozen Number 1 country hits.


 
“We wrote a lot of these songs during the lockdown,” recalls Shiflett, who spent much of the pandemic at home in Southern California. “Then I began making trips to Nashville to work with Jaren. He and I have a lot of overlap, in terms of the music we like. We made a guitar-centric record that encapsulates everything I’ve been listening to over the years, from the most country songs I’ve ever recorded to punk rock and even songs that sound like a California version of The Clash.”
 
‘Damage Control’ is the track he’s referencing, which strays further from the country influence than most of the album. It’s also the only ‘old’ tune that Johnston and Shiflett included on Lost at Sea.
 
“All the other tunes were written in the months leading up to recording, but when Jaren and I were sorting out which songs to do he mentioned something about The Clash and I remembered this old one I’d demoed about 15 years prior,” recalls Shiflett.


 
With its layers of reverb, pulsing percussion and Echoplex tape delay, ‘Damage Control’ went through a number of versions before reaching its final form in the studio with Johnston.
 
“I love that the musical inspiration on this one was late-stage Clash, but we wound up layering it with banjos and what-not. Definitely takes it somewhere else. Ska-mericana?” Shiflett laughs. “There’s nothing better than when influences converge taking you places you never expected.”
 
Caught halfway between the honky-tonk saloon and the punk rock dive bar, Lost at Sea is both eclectic and electric, making room for alt-country crunch, guitar-driven grit and sharp songwriting. Tying that mix together is Shiflett himself, a musical Renaissance Man whose influences are every bit as wide-ranging as his resumé.
 
The new album also features a stellar cast of Americana all-stars. Among them are fellow guitar slingers Charlie Worsham, Tom Bukovac, and Nathan Keeterle, all three of whom laced the record with fiery fretwork. Shiflett also teamed up with several co-writers, partnering with Kendell Marvel, Cody Jinks, and others to fill Lost at Sea with storylines that pack as hefty a punch as the music itself.
 
The new single follows the release of the two-steppin’ fuzz-fuelled ‘Dead And Gone’ and the southern rockin’ ‘Black Top White Lines’, both setting the flavour of the album with its signature honky-tonk-meets-rock-and-roll sound and blending the lines between his previous albums – 2017’s honky-tonk homage West Coast Town and 2019’s gritty Americana fuelled Hard Lessons.

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PJ Harey-‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’ (Partisan Records)

PJ Harey-‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’ (Partisan Records)

‘I Inside the Old Year Dying’ is PJ Harvey’s tenth album, and her first in seven years. Throughout her career, she has always ensured that each phase of her progress has taken her somewhere new, but her latest music is audacious and original even by her own standards. Full of a sense  of a cyclical return to new beginnings, it combines its creative daring with a sense of being open and inviting, inthe most fascinating way. The new songs, Harvey says, offer “a resting space, a solace, a comfort, a balm-which feels timely for the times we’re in.”

And that intro from the press release is as good a place to start as any, I started listening to Polly Jean back in the time of 5OFT Queenie coming out, stocking Dry when I first opened my own record shop, have moved with her through virtually every stage of her career and watched and listened as every LP has unravelled each with their own personality each echoing a time in Polly Jean’s life making a statement from a snaphot, but always moving forward, the music itself constantly changing and adapting and very much as with people like Bowie and Nick Cave fans will be drawn to a specific era, a genre and sometimes not move forward with the artist happy in the now, unwilling to Embrace change, not something that can be levelled at artists such as Polly Jean.

So what does the LP give us again drawing on Polly Jeans words from the press release

” In the album’s liminal world, scattered with biblical imagery and references to Shakespeare, all these distinctions dissolve. “I’m somewhere where I’ve not been before,” Harvey says. “What’s above,what’s below, what’s old, what’s new, what’s night, what’s day? It’s all the same, really–and you can enter it and get lost. And that’s what I wanted to do with the record, with the songs, with the sound, with everything”.

Opening up with “Prayer at the gate” your instantly drawn into that world of Aural soundscapes faved by Warren Ellis and the Producer flood’s work really draws you in, this is a very different PJ Harvey, the voice an instrument in the whole rather than a lead. Next up “Autum leaves” has quite a Soulful almost funk feel in the backdrop, but the vocals push the song forward in a very different way almost sitting outside the music dipping into and weaving through the Sound. “Lonesome tonight” again has a very different feel a song that stops you dead and you just have to listen, the story unfolding takes me to a parallel with the Orianthi Poem written in old Cornish, this is probably my fave on the LP, it twists and turns and is I think one of the strongest PJ Vocal performances I’ve heard.

“Seen and I “ hints at past sounds but again the vocals move in a very different direction, the John Parish influence I think coming to the fore. “The Nether edge” weaves a very different soundscape almost industrial in its reverb and repetition, but again the vocals sit outside moving in and out, The acoustic guitar that introduces “I inside the old year dying” drifts away as that industrial soundscape takes over, the music changing and adapting to the story being told. “All Souls” enters almost hesitantly the piano and vocals overtaken as the distortion and reverb comes in. At this point you realise how strong the Vocals are throughout this LP I would definitely say this is one Of PJ’s strongest ever vocal performances,

Moving through the rest of the LP “A child’s question July” “I inside the old I dying” with its stop start animation led video, “August” with its initial Piano led soundscape, flows seamlessly into “a Child’s question July”which has an almost mystical feel weaving a fairytail picture, “A noiseless noise” finishes things up with again one of my faves of the LP tearing you back with power and intensity to earlier PJ Harvey works.

This is a powerful LP but in a number of ways, it holds your attention and is very definitely one to listen to all the way through, for someone new to PJ Harvey I’m not sure that it’ll set things up for you to explore the artists earlier work this Isn’t ‘Stories from the City’, ‘Is this Desire’, ‘Dry’ or ‘Pure’, its also a long way from ‘The Hope Six Demolition Project’ and ‘Let England shake’, but if you sit and listen you can pick up pieces from them all just re-interpreted. It might not hit you first listen, but stick with it I think it’ll creep on to my LP of the year list come December!!

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Author: Nev Brooks