Being a member of The Hangmen is always gonna have us sitting upright and paying attention here at RPM HQ, so when we were asked to check out Tramp For The Lord (who knows what it means), SoCal music veteran Doug Cox is the former Hangmen bassist, where he played under the name Johnny Holliday. Here he is fronting his own thang with a SoCal flavour, sure there’s still shades of The Hangmen in songs like ‘Satans Sun’ with its cowboy acoustic campfire strum and nothing more than some shakers and a walking Bass line, oh, and a penny whistle.

Named Best Folk/Roots Group by LA Weekly, Tramp for the Lord play desert-fried country-rock with moody garage folk and spaghetti Western-tinged balladry, a style perfected by the mighty Green On Red back in the day and a style that Chuck Prophet has continued with some commercial success, as has his old sparring partner Dan Stuart. ‘Oh Pete’ is like a dusty early morning with some fantastic lead guitars driving the song as the band holds the beat steady with the sun rising in the sky. This kind of desert rock when done well, creates a huge cinematic style and brings the music to life. Cox’s dreamy style vocal delivery is worldly-wise and weathered as he tries to paint the picture that everything is gonna be alright, and if it’s not, then don’t worry, sit back and chill.

‘Another Day’ is a simple song that builds slowly, with a great example of the arrangement giving the song that cinematic style, with some wonderful subtle piano behind that Bass line and strummed guitar. A song that reminds me of the awesome solo album from Hunt Sales Memorial. It’s loose n ragged but sweet and melancholy and everything in between.

‘Cowboys Cry’ is a full band jammin along at a cool tempo before the westernised ‘Rosie And Me’ kicks in sounds like it could be the outro theme tune for a David Lynch series. The songs seem to get bigger productions as that widescreen breaks out as the album evolves. ‘Last Star On The Boulevard’ is a captivating story set to music that reels you in and has you on the hook with an excellent soundtrack.

‘Slaughterhouse Of Love’ is a dark bit of Blues that sounds like the last song you’ll hear before the devil exchanges the blues for your soul. It’s a dark campfire song with the same arrangement as the earlier ‘Satans Sun’ but without the heartbreaking whistle. The album closes with the barroom piano barely in tune and the whisky drained outta the bottle: ‘Paper Sky (Song For Bacchus)’ has some lovely lap steel for good measure that Ronnie Wood would be proud to have picked on. If you’re looking for some late-night rock ‘ n’ roll with a different flavour, then look no further than Tramp For The Lord. A wonderful palate-cleansing roots record that I would highly recommend you check out.

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Author: Dom Daley