Delta 88 – Firefly (Western Star Records)

Delta 88 – Firefly (Western Star Records)

What could possibly top a week off work, well I tell you the arrival of the latest Delta 88 album certainly did.

‘Firefly’ is the second release from rocking trio Delta 88. The band are: Simon Clews guitar, vocals, Nikki Clews drums, vocals and Julian wood on the upright bass.

The album kicks off with the track ‘Cherry pie until I die’ which has a classic rockabilly sound and instantly gets the listener wanting more with great vocals by Simon.

On ‘Damsel In Distress’ Nikki takes over on lead vocals and does a great job on this earworm of a track. always a bonus when a band has more than one really strong vocal.

‘Massachusetts Firefly’ is a track which is a bit more laid back,  with a country element running through it and adds another texture to the bands sound.

Another standout is the track Patient Man’ which as the song goes along picks up the pace and really gets the listener’s foot tapping along.

‘Panther In The Night’ has a slightly bluesy feel to it and keeps the quality of the album at a high. as the band show there no one trick pony. ‘Please Don’t Send Me Home’ closes the album out and is again a top quality rockabilly number.

Firefly is an impressive album with great playing from all three band members. Once around the block is never enough and this one makes me want to press play and start it all over again and another quality release from the The Western Star Recording Company that seems to be my go-to label for all things stand up bass and quality tunes. Proving you don’t need to be born in Nashville to make great Rockabilly records.

Buy ‘Firefly’ Here

Western Star Records

Author: Gareth ‘Mutton Chops’ Hooper

Little Lesley & The Bloodshots – Heartbeat (Western Star Records)

Little Lesley & The Bloodshots – Heartbeat (Western Star Records)

You can never get too much class rock’n’roll and I was lucky enough to pick up another great album from the Western Star Recording Company. The album I got my hands on was the latest release from Little Lesley and The Bloodshots titled Heartbeat.

The Bloodshots are a rockin’ Three piece consisting of Lesley on bass, husband Brian on guitar and Bobby on drums hailing from upstate Carolina New York City. Its Roots Rockabilly is what they do and they do it well.

The album starts off with the Rock’n’ Roll stomp of the title track ‘Heartbeat’ which grabs the listener with Lesley’s great vocals, and the excellent rhythm section of Brian and Bobby.

Up next is the track ‘I’m sorry’ which has a slightly more R’N’B feel which really makes the track stand out whereas 

‘Fool for your love’  is a track which adds a bluesy touch mixed with rockabilly and reminds me of when Elvis would mix blues with Rock’n’ Roll. With the song ‘Spell my name’ we have a great old style country sounding track which yet again adds another element to the bands sound so they have plenty of variety and its not just one style and one pace.

‘You don’t fool me’ has some acoustic guitars on the intro before Lesley counts into a rockabilly rocker. On the track “Drive my truck” we hear Brian taking over lead vocals and he does a great job with another great rock’n’roll song and another twist on what they do having two singers in the band is definitely a strength.

Overall this album drips quality and with a great mixture of styles that will captivate the listener on each time you spin the black circle.

Buy Heartbeat Here

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author: Gareth ‘Hotshot’ Hooper