Tag Archives: blues

Features

The Top albums of 2024 – Part 3!

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I’m running out of witty quips or honourable mentions already, so instead I’mma take this time to say this: yes, I know the scoring is whack, especially in part 3. Higher scores are lower than others. But my scoring is based on not just my enjoyment, but the overall quality of the album, in general and in its genre. And while those two latter parts do factor into this list, it’s a lot more about my personal preference in here.

So, let’s dive into another 20 albums, shall we?

60 – Tom Killner: Borrowed Time

This pretty of our list opens on a one-two-punch of excellent, yet somehow completely different, blues albums. Honestly, I’ve loved this and the next entrant for months now and it’s been so hard picking which is better, so honestly this is more of a joint-59th position. However, my OCD won’t let me not have a #60 on this list, or have a top 100 albums have 101 albums, so this one took the hit and is the lower one. However, that shouldn’t in any way take away from this release; it’s incredible.

Tom has been a mainstay of the UK underground blues and NWOCR scene for a good few years now, and this is unquestionably my favourite release of his. It’s 36-minutes of soft-blues/boarding on easily-listening-and-gospel goodness and I love it now just as I did back in April when I reviewed it. It’s jam packed full of amazing tracks, most of which have made their way onto my personal playlist over the last eight months. His voice is incredible and the playing throughout from Tom and his band is insanely impressive, not to mention how top notch his songwriting is throughout. There’s a reason I gave it top marks in the review, and I still stand by that score now! It’s the best release in this sound of the year, hands down, and I’d recommend it to absolutely anyone!

Listen to: Devils Gate, Heart of Gold and Light it Up

59 – Troy Redfern: Invocation

The second half of the blues double entry is another British frontman who is a bit on the heavier side compared to Tom. Honestly, that’s probably why I’ve given him the slight edge, but both are utterly incredible albums in the genre. Troy is another name who’s been plugging away in the NWOCR scene for a good number of years now, and doesn’t get nearly the respect and push he should get, especially when he’s putting out releases of this quality! Much like Tom above, I do think this is my favourite album by him so far, too! And if any readers are as big fans of blues rock as I am, you’ll love this, too! It flows perfectly, and the 41-minutes goes by in a flash. There isn’t a bad track on it and it’s so easy to listen to in full, while there are plenty of highlight, stand-alone tracks too! It got an incredible 9.5/10 in our review, and I still fully stand by that score all these months later. If you’re a fan of rock, blues or sleaze, check this out immediately!

Listen to: Getaway, The Calling and All Night Long

58 – The Survival Code: Whispers of Woe

Nearly 11 months on, this is still an incredible, interesting, mind-blowing alt rock record. The fact that it’s just a duo still to this day baffles me; how they craft such a huge sound and play so technically with just two is amazing. The double-tracked vocals give everything such a huge, yet quirky, feel to it. I still definitely hear the early Biffy Clyro comparison I made when I reviewed this, and it really makes them stand out as no-one is doing stuff like this any more. It’s another album packed to the brim with awesome tracks too; even its 53-minute runtime somehow left me wanting more! I’ve been listening to this all year and it fully justifies the 10/10 I gave it, even if it’s just because of the sheet talent involved! No matter what sort of music you are into, I cannot recommend this album enough. I hated not being able to put it higher in this list, but it’s above a lot of incredible albums, and it really shows how insanely good the quality of music output we’ve had this year! I predict huge things for this band in the near future, and it can all be attributed back to this album!

Listen to: Never Knew You Existed, Built to Break and Waiting in the Wings

57 – Eminem: The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)

So, after three solid names in the UK underground NOWCR scene, it does feel like a bit of whiplash to go to a massive hip-hop name next. However, there was no way this album wasn’t making this list. Slim Shady returning was very much not on my 2024 bingo card heading into the year, but five months later I’m still loving it, and I really hope the title isn’t true and we get more of him moving forward. The fact that he’s not actually been cancelled for some of the stuff in this means that clearly people are in on the meta-joke, which is a good sign. Plus, ‘Houdini’ is his biggest hit in over a decade at this point, so the “walking parental advisory” must be here to stay, right?

It’s yet another album on this list that certainly isn’t for everyone. However, as a massive fan of The Eminem Show in my youth, I’m so glad he’s returned to this sound. And the release itself is fantastic, packed full of amazing hip-hop tracks that feel like the perfect modernisation of the early 2000s sound. The split personality theme throughout is amazing, and lead to some really incredible tracks. Heck, even some of the guests on it kill it, too. I’d be very surprised if you’re a fan of Em reading this and haven’t already checked out the album, but if you have even a passing interest in him, I can’t recommend this album enough. It got a solid 8.5/10 from me, and I stand by that still now, along with its placement on this list!

Listen to: Brand New Dance, Antichrist and Houdini

56 – Rhapsody of Fire: Challenge of Fire

Yet another album I love more and more with each subsequent listen. The Italian band may very well be the peak of the power-symphonic-heavy metal combination, and this album is fantastic evidence of that. The talent of playing and songwriting is off the charts, much like it is with all of the bands albums, but this is certainly up there with some of their best! It’s an hour of fantastic metal from front to back, and a must for any fans of any of the genres I listed previous. Sure, the length is a touch daunting for some, but it’s well worth it! There’s a reason it got a stunning 10/10 in our review, and after revisiting it all these months later it more than certainly deserves that ranking. The album takes you on a fantastic journey, and is a must for metal fans!

The Bloody Pariah, Vanquished by Shadows and Mastered by the Dark

55 – The Red Clay Strays: Made By These Moments

One of the many big breakout country groups of the last couple of years, it resulted in this being a very highly anticipated release. And, somehow, it lived up to said lofty expectations! There is a LOT to love on this album! The band have upped the ante from their previous release in terms of songwriting, and the result was a fantastic blend of neo-traditional country and more modern southern rock. And it is packed to the brim with highlights too, with almost every track having radio-hit potential, and a good few living up to it! And whether it’s the slower, radio-ballad style or the more foot-stomping rock, Brandon and co do it all so damn well. I gave it a solid 9/10 when I reviewed it, and it may get an even higher ranking after months of spinning it. Heck, it was even just as incredible live! I can’t recommend this album enough to country fans, and I think they’re going to be an absolutely massive name in the near future!

Listen to: Wanna Be Loved, Drowning and On My Knees

54 – Gangstagrass: Blackest Thing on the Menu

This album just had to make it onto this list somewhere. Ever since I found them a couple of years ago at The Long Road, I’ve been obsessed, and this was a hugely hyped album for me since the moment it was announced. And while I agree with my original review in that I’m disappointed there isn’t slightly more country/bluegrass on here, it’s an incredibly solid release and the high points more than outweigh the occasional low. The band’s infusion of bluegrass and 90s-style hip-hop is and will always be so unique and incredible, and if you are a fan of either wide-spreading genre, I can’t recommend this album and band enough! It got a 9/10 from us and I still agree with that, but it gets this high up the list because of just how damn good half the songs are. The band don’t get nearly the credit they deserve, but at least they have this… right…?

Listen to: Good at Being Bad, Up High Do or Die and Obligatory Braggadocio

53 – My Dying Bride: A Mortal Binding

The doom metal legends released one hell of an album earlier this year! If you know the band you’ll know roughly what to expect, and being a big fan of them personally of course I loved it! Whether clean, catchy vocals or brutal screams, both were great in equal measure and fit the amazing instrumentation perfectly each way. It’s no wonder we gave it a 9.5/10 when we reviewed it back in April. If you’re a fan of the more epic, darker side of metal, this one is certainly one more than worth checking out. There isn’t a bad track on it and there is plenty to love when listening!

Listen to: Her Dominion, The 2nd of Three Bells and The Apocalyptist

52 – The Exile Club: Chained to the Ruin & Rust

A band new band to me this year, so much so that I didn’t even hear the album upon its release, going back to check it out after seeing them live. So, to have them this high up the list is a true testament to how amazing the band and this release is! It’s like the UK’s answer to American roots music, adding in some jazz and swing and blues elements, and it really is fantastic from start to finish! It’s an amazing, chilled-out release just brimming with awesome playing, catchy vocals and some amazing emotional moments. The band are set to go very far if this album is anything to go by, and I already can’t wait to hear more from them. It’s an amazing, relaxing listen that gets an easy 9/10 from me and more than earns its spot on this list!

Listen to: Got to Be More, Ticket Home, Some of That Sweat Tea

51 – Pokey Lafarge: Rhumba Country

Somehow another new discovery for me this year, we checked him out at The Long Road back in August and I’ve been obsessed ever since! It does mean that somehow I missed it for NMM when it released back in May, though. The mixture of old-school swing, blues, jazz, mambo, samba and mid-century rock n’ roll is amazing and it’s another album that it’s impossible not to have a good time listening to! It’s an album celebrating life, and it’s a fun, chilled-out 35-minute listen. Add to that the fact that not only Pokey, but the rest of his band too, are all insanely talented and have worked together to craft something truly special with this release. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone reading this, but I loved it so of course it made it onto this list! After spinning it a good few times over the last few months, it gets a solid 9/10 from us!

Listen to: Run Run Run, So Long Chicago and It’s Not Over

50 – Ice Exiled: Reset the Sky

Another new band for me this year, and one that just barely made the cut for this list as it came out on the 29th of November! However, this absolutely blew me away and more than earned its spot here. Somehow being technical-power metal with some prog thrown in for good measure, it’s 42-minutes of 8-tracks of pure awesomeness. It’s epic in every sense of the word, and there really isn’t a as track on it! I’ve already spun it a handful of times since its release just a couple of weeks ago, and still can’t get enough. Some of the guitaring honestly blew my mind, while the drumming, screams and catchy vocals are also phenomenal. If you are into metal in any way I can’t recommend this enough; there really is something for everyone! It was another one that got a whopping 10/10 from us, and I fully stand by that perfect mark today! It’s an amazing debut that would have made it higher on this list if it was a weaker year!

Listen to: Civilisation Zero, Reapers Feast and Anthropcentrum

49 – Mad Caddies: Arrow Room 117

Somehow, for the longest time this album was a lot lower on this list. I absolutely adore this band have done for years, so I think the more relaxed, less punk-focused sound from them always takes a bit of getting used to. However, now I am used to it and revisiting it, it’s a truly incredible soft-ska album. The band have been criminally underrated for years at this time, and this is yet another example of a stellar album from them that should be bigger than it is! Every song is amazing and has some of the best, catchiest choruses the band have produced. It’s truly impossible to have a bad time listening to the album, and it got a very easy 9/10 from us, though I may even put it higher than that now! After a decade of waiting, Mad Caddies proved that they can still write incredible albums, and more than earned their slot on this list!

Palm Trees and Pines, Baby and Backroads

48 – Crobot: Obsidian

More genre hopping from the PA hard rock band, as this added a lot more stoner, doom and heavier metal into their sound. I loved it, and still do now! It released in a STACKED week of plenty of awesome music too, so for it to make this much of an impact on me and still be something I revisit regularly three months later is a true testament to the awesomeness of the album. Heck, it’s no surprise, I loved this band, but this release for me felt like a step up from their previous stuff, even. From the ch0nky riffs to the catchy vocals throughout, there is so much to enjoy and it’s packed full of highlights. As I said in my review and I’ll say again, there truly isn’t a bad song on this album. It more than deserves the 9.5/10 I gave it, and deserves so much more credit than it’s gotten so far since its release. I’m desperate to see it all live, so if by some miracle the band are reading this, c’mon lads, do this album in full on a UK tour… It’s another album I really wish I could put higher, but this album got almost impossible to rank by this point!

Listen to: Obsidian, Nothing and Head of the Beast

47 – Mother Mother: Grief Chapter

Releasing way back in February, I’ve had a very up-and-down relationship with this odd, quirky slab of alt-rock. Before revisiting all these albums in preparation for this list, I’d honestly thought this would be up much higher. However, I then came across the same sort of issues I had from my review; the tracks that I like I LOVE (and have listened to a lot in the last 10 months), but there’s some tracks I’m certainly not into either. However, I did enjoy them more than I remember doing, and as an album as a whole it flows amazingly. The mix of Mica and Muse and hopping between pop and folk and hard rock is awesome through, and still makes for an enjoyable album for me to listen through all these months later. I absolutely love a sold 2/3+ of this release, and it deserves higher than the 8.5 from the review; it’s a solid 9/10! It more than deserves this slot on the list!

Listen to: Explode!, Normalize and The Matrix

46 – The Mourning: Hush

This scratches my techy, proggy metal itch perfectly every time I listen to it. Somehow the perfect blend of Coheed and Cambria, Tool and Motanka, I somehow missed this album upon its release, but have made up for that by spinning it a bunch recently! The whole atmosphere created throughout is incredible. The band are so amazingly talented for crafting an album of this calibre, and something that’s like this that holds my attention for a full 52-minutes! From the riffing to the insane drumming and time signatures to some utterly amazing vocals, it really had it all. Much like the rest of this list from now on, there isn’t a bad track throughout the album, and it all flows together perfectly! It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but if you’re a fan of any of the bands or styles above, I can’t recommend this album enough! It gets a solid 9/10 from me and easily justifies to place on this list!

Listen to: He Cries, Hush and My Own Hell

45 – Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts: Rouge to Redemption

Another album that never fails to make me smile and I fall in love with a little more every time I listen to it. Somehow the perfect blend of glam (plenty of Bowie), hard rock and also bands like Wildhearts, E’Nuff Z’Nuff and Quireboys, it’s right up my street and I love every send of it. It’s 70s/80s rock anthem after rock anthem, yet still also feels updated for a modern audience. There are so many highlight tracks throughout, the album being practically perfect. It’s very easy to see why we gave it 9.5/10 when we reviewed it. I hadn’t checked it out much since its release, but revisiting it it blew me away all over again! If you’re a fan of any of the band’s or styles listed above, I truly can’t recommend this album enough! It more than earns it’s spot on this list, and is another one that could easily be higher on any given day!

Listen to: Take the Long Way, Glorybound and Little Renegade

44 – FEVER 333: Darker White

It pains me to put this band this low. Back in 2020, WRONG GENERATION was one of my favourite albums (still not an EP) of the year and is an album I still regularly revisit. And don’t get me wrong, this album is amazing, hence why it is sat so high up this list. But man, I really thought this would be top 10 when it was announced. But damn, there are so many amazing tracks on this album, like the ones mentioned below. It simply drops off a little towards the end, for the most part. It’s not as solid throughout as their previous album, or the albums later in this list, hence why it’s a touch lower down. Jason and co are still one of the most creative and interesting bands around today, and one of the few that still have a genuinely dangerous-feeling edge to them. It’s another fantastic addition to their truly stellar discography, and I think it deserves the solid 8.5/10 we gave it! It’s a fun listen all the way through with some incredibly strong moments, but a couple of certain lulls. Still, it more than deserves this slot, as I love a huge amount of it!

Listen to: NEW WEST ORDER, NO HOSTAGES AND NOSEBLEEDS

43 – South of Salem : Death of the Party

One of the fastest rising underground rock bands in the UK returned with their highly anticipated sophomore album way back in January. Given that it’s here on the list, it was clearly damn good! It builds on the sound of the debut perfectly, and is packed full of some more incredible tracks that fit right alongside the others in their so-far incredible discography. Plus, the 10 tracks go by in a storm, it not feeling like 42-minutes at all. If you’re a fan of the gothic rock kinda sound, or any hard rock from this millennium, NWOCR or the more early 2000s US style, you’ll love this just as much as I do! The only reason it’s not a touch higher up is because it does play just slightly safe; it’s very close to the debut album sonically. However, it’s only their second album, and the formula certainly isn’t broken so doesn’t need fixing! It got a solid 9/10 from us, and is definitely deserving of being high on this list!

Listen to: Static, Jet Black Eyes and A Life Worth Dying For

42 – Alien Ant Farm: ~mAntras~

This had no reason being this phenomenal. 13 years after they put out their highly acclaimed debut, they put out this absolute beast of an alt-rock album and reminded everyone how incredible they are. I’ve seen nothing but praise for it, and it’s very easy to see why we gave it 9/10, and honestly listening back to it yet again it may be even higher than that! Every track is amazing, and feels like they get better and better with every listen. The band have always been criminal underrated, but this is a perfect example of them still releasing incredible music despite that. Regardless of if you usually dismiss them as ‘that band that covered Smooth Criminal’ or if you aren’t typically into this style of rock, check this out, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. It very easily made it onto this list, and it’s yet another one that would have been higher if it was a weaker year!

Listen to: Last dAntz, Fade and So Cold

41 – Mister Misery: Self-Titled

Rounding out this section of the list is an awesome release from the Swedish horror metalcore outfit. We gave it 9.5/10 in our review and it’s pretty easy to see why! It’s packed full of great tracks; 46-minutes of melodic, heavy, catchy metal. Sounding like a melting pot of Ice Nine Kills, Falling in Reverse, Motionless in White and Black Veil Brides; everything from the riffing to the massive drums to the catchy cleans and brutal screams is awesome. Plus, the production on it is top notch, really adding to the epic, horror atmosphere throughout. If you are into this end of the metal spectrum, I can’t recommend this enough! It’s an excellent album and more than earned its place this high in the list!

Listen to: Erzébet, Crooked Man and Until the End

<- Part 2

Part 4 ->

Features, Reviews

Pokey Lafarge and The Tailspins Rock Manchester Academy!

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This was a pretty special gig for us, as it’s not typically the style of music we usually would usually cover. However, we caught Pokey’s set at The Long Road earlier this year and brought tickets for this show on the way home, we were that impressed. But how would he be at his own gig in an indoor venue? Read on to find out!

Before the main man came on, we had a wonderful duo come on as support. The Tailspins were the perfect band to open for Pokey. Their unique throwback sound of 1950’s jump-blues fit the style of the evening perfectly, and Oskar and Julia play it perfectly. Between fan favourite tracks off their EP like ‘You’ll Make it By’ and ‘Beep Beep’ to the tracks off their recent 45, we got a fantastic little set, too. And while I’m a little sad we didn’t get a full band experience, I completely understand the pressures of touring restraints these days, and Oskar did a fantastic job at playing the mouth trumpet to make up for it! And the husband-and-wife are born performers too, with Oskar’s outgoing nature and charm winning the crowd over almost immediately, while Julia fit perfectly alongside him. Their playing skills were amazing and their vocals not only fit the style fantastically, but also meshed together perfectly in their harmonies. I’d never heard of the band before, but they very much have a new fan in me!

Then, after a brief pause, the swing-blues legend and his band took to the stage. Somehow, they were even better than they were back in August. I’ve never seen a group of musicians so talented and so tight together live every time they play, and it really makes for a pleasure to behold. And as a musician myself who cannot possibly get to this sort of level of playing in this style, it was a little mind-blowing at times to witness. From the guitaring to the standup-bass to the drumming to the keys/organ to, again, PLAYING THE GUITAR AND TRUMPET AT THE SAME TIME, everyone was incredible. And that’s not to take away from Pokey either, who is a master at guitar and whose vocals fit it all so well!

As for the set list, it was very almost perfect! I was once again snubbed from seeing ‘Fuck Me Up’ live, but outside of that they played an incredible list of songs. From opening on the incredible ‘So Long, Chicago’, to playing crowd favourite deeper cuts like ‘Goodbye, Barcelona’ and the beautiful acoustic ballad ‘When Did you Leave Heaven’ (by request) to the hits like ‘Fine to Me’ and ‘Something in the Water’, it was jam packed full of highlights. And between the tracks and the extended jamming between them, it was all played amazingly well, ensuring the crowd ate it up. Pokey has a really dedicated fan base over here and the packed house in Manchester demonstrated that perfectly, hanging on every note and word. It was a fantastic show from start to finish, thanks to both the crowd and the band.

And there we have it, folks. A night packed full of amazing blues, swing and jazz music. Both bands killed it and impressed the packed crowd at the Academy no end. I cannot recommend either band enough, on track or live, especially if you like this sort of music. If either of them are nearby you, go and see them live, I promise you won’t be disappointed! I already can’t wait to see either of them again!

Reviews

The New Roses & Leonie Jakobi Rock The Asylum!

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It’s no secret to anyone here that I love The New Roses. I’ve reviewed both recent albums, done a handful of live reviews and interviews. So of course when they announced a tour, y’all had to be expecting this review. And sure enough, the moment tickets went out, we got them for Birmingham and finally headed down to see them the other night. But what were they like? Read on to find out!

Firstly, I feel like this was the most intimate setting I’d seen the band in. Last year at Milton Keynes was small too, but this felt even more intimate. However, it was packed full of huge fans of the band, be it older or those recruited on the Massive Wagons tour last year, and they hung on the band’s every note.

However, before we get to them, we have to talk about how utterly incredible the support act was. The German-born old-school rock singer-songwriter had a solo set to open the tour instead of her usual full-band setup, but it worked fantastically. It almost gave Leonie a folk edge to her sound, something that I was not expecting heading into her set. However, it was a really interesting take on a lot of her otherwise rockier tracks, like ‘Bedroom Eyes’ and ‘Run Towards the Edge’. However, the highlight for me was the beautiful ‘Walk to West Berlin’; the already stripped-back, folky track translating so well to the set. And we even got a couple of awesome covers thrown into the mix too, her performing Whitesnake and Journey incredible well. It was a great set, and one hell of a way to open the evening!

Then, after a brief gap, the headliners took to the stage. Opening on a slew of new music off their recent album, it was great to hear something I hadn’t before! The likes of the album’s title track, ‘Bring the Thunder’ and later ‘When You Fall in Love’, ‘Natural Born Vagabonds’, ‘This Heart’ and ‘Whiskey in the Backseat’ all came across incredibly live, and were performed amazingly. Then you have some of the tracks that have stuck around from the last touring cycle like ‘Lion in You’, ‘The Usual Suspects’ and ‘1st Time for Everything’ coupled with the old classics like ‘Every Wild Heart’, ‘It’s a Long Way’, ‘Down by the River’ and ‘Thirsty’ and it was a pretty stacked setlist, to say the least! However, I do think that I’ve sadly seen them that much now that some live favourites have had to be dropped in favour of the new stuff. I know that it was inevitable, but I very much missed the likes of ‘Life Ain’t Easy’, ‘One More For the Road’ and even ‘Warpaint’. Clearly the band just need to play three hour sets like Foo Fighters or GnR, so if you could get on that next time guys that would be great…! We didn’t even get a cover, which is very shocking given how many I’ve seen them do over the years!

The band played just as well as ever, though. The stage was a little smaller than I think they’re used to at this point but Timmy and Norman ran around like the owned the place, putting on one hell of a show. Meanwhile the rhythm three held it down perfectly and played their asses off throughout. They are one of the most professional bands around in terms of sheer playing, and Timmy is one of the most underrated vocalists and frontmen around today. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand from beginning to end!

And there we have it, folks. An awesome night from two incredible artists in the semi-underground rock scene! Both Leonie and The New Roses were amazing and rocked the packed house in Birmingham! If you get the chance to see either live I cannot recommend it enough, and in the meantime you’ve GOTTA listen to them on track! We’re catching The New Roses again in February at Winters End, and will hopefully be seeing Leonie again ASAP, so expect more content on both soon!

Features, Interviews & Features

Julian Taylor: ‘Here is really more focused towards country rock stuff, whereas in North America the country stuff is really poppy!’

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We had the pleasure of chatting to the amazing Julian Taylor at The Long Road the other week. Check out the full interview below!

How was the set? Sounded good from out there!

Oh thanks man! I didn’t hear it myself!

And it’s the first of two, right?

Yeah, the first of two. We’re playing over there on the porch stage. I was just talking to Bailon and he was saying he designed that whole stage from something from his childhood. So I’m looking forward to that, yeah!

Will it just be you or the whole band?

I think we’ll do the whole thing. My stuff’s not overbearing, it’s pretty chill!

And this is show number two of the tour, right?

Yes, we were in Shoreham-by-Sea two nights ago. Then here, London tomorrow, The Water Rats, then moving forward we’re in Liverpool and Shrewsbury, and Barnswick, and Kirton in Lindsey.

And this is your second tour out here, right?

This is the third, actually! But second with the band. First one I came out solo and did the Americana fest UK and a whole bunch of stuff in England and Scotland. Haven’t been to Ireland yet!

And, being Canadian and being country-adjacent, what’s it like being in that scene when it’s still so closely associated with the South?

Country-adjacent is a good way to describe it. It’s adjacent to a lot of things; rock n’ roll, rhythm and blues, folk music. So I call it Roots music.

Yeah, I don’t know. Like it’s kinda the same, like it is here. People enjoy it. There’s elements of storytelling and elements of just giving it. The only difference really I can see with the folk music scene, like the Americana scene, is here is really more focused towards country rock stuff, whereas in North America the country stuff is really poppy, these days at least. And if you want to dance it’s more of like a jig or bluegrass thing.

And you put out a new single just the other day, right?

Yes! Myself and my friend, Alison, put out a song, the lead single and title track from my new record, Pathways. It’s coming out in September!

Any thoughts on it?

I like it! It’s a good record!

Are you planning on any more singles for it?

Nope, the record just comes out afterwards!

What’s the writing process like for you?

It’s always a bit different, man. Sometimes I start with the lyrics first, sometimes with the chords and melody first. They’re married to each other so it doesn’t really matter what comes first. I find that if you write the lyrics first the melody kinda compliments it and it moves in a different way, rather than the other way around. If you write the melody and then the lyrics, the lyrics have to accommodate the melody. So it’s interesting! They both work in different ways but they are very much the same thing.

It’s just you mainly writing, right?

Mainly it’s me but I write with other people. The ‘Pathways’ single was written with my friend Robert Priest and Roseanne, they helped me write that. well, they didn’t help me, we wrote it together. And I write songs with a buddy of mine, Tyler Alice.

Have you got quite a busy rest of the year planned?

Busy enough, yeah! Enough to keep me away! Going to California, Colorado, doing a Western tour, and Eastern tour. I like touring, it’s cool. It is tiring though, I’m not a young buck any more!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d like to be a part of?

Anybody and everybody really. I like to play and I like to watch people play. I like to learn from people and I hope that I rub off on them too.

I think a real good tour would be me and Nathaniel Rateliff. He’s like me, he can do the acoustic thing or can go all in.

Reviews

Whirlwind: Lainey Wilson Takes her Crown to Sit at the Top of the Country world!

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The amazing Lainey Wilson is back with her first album since her breakout, Grammy-winning release, Bell Bottom Country. We checked out that release and enjoyed it, but she has since grown on me a lot more. So, of course we had to check out this upcoming release, especially when we were sent it a few days before release! Let’s dive in!

‘Keep up with Jones’ opens up the album perfectly; a foot-stomping number that focuses on the acoustic guitar and Lainey’s now-iconic vocals. A simple verse leads to a catchy as anything, fun chorus. The subtle backing vocals/harmonies add so much to it, making it almost instantly memorable. Immediately, it’s made to be played to huge crowds at festivals and in arenas. And, while the lyrics are somewhat stereotypical for country, Lainey does a great job of making them her own and keeping the cringiness away, as seen throughout the whole album really. We even get an awesome extended blues/southern guitar and organ solo tucked away in the middle, adding even more greatness to the song. It’s the perfect way to open this album, and immediately made it onto our playlist. An amazing start!

I’ve been obsessed with ‘Country’s Cool Again’ since the moment it came out. Everything about the song is just so fun and enjoyable, and it was the perfect, up-beat first single to release. I shan’t say too much about the track as we actually did a reaction video to it, which I’ll drop below, where I got most of my thoughts out of it. However, it’s a really excellent song, and one that I’ve still not stopped listening to months later. And it seems like she can do it awesomely live, which is another bonus!

Up next is the latest single, the Miranda Lambert featuring ‘Good Horses’. It feels like a similar more Americana, slightly darker sound from her last album. However, that doesn’t make the song any less awesome. The pairs vocals work effortlessly amazingly together, their harmonies and duel vocals magical together. And they also make the chorus hugely more catchy than it would have been with just the one of them. It’s a simple track but the instrumentation works so well, making it instantly memorable.

‘Broken Hearts Still Beat’ is the first beautiful ballad of the album. Opening on Lainey’s awesome vocals over some simple piano chords, the instrumentation stays stripped back throughout but still builds perfectly. The chorus is incredible too, massively catchy and simply arranged with just the one vocal track. It’s going to be one stuck in my head for days to come, I’m sure. And the emotion throughout the track is palpable, making it easily relatable. It’s an amazing song and another one that easily makes it onto the playlist!

The album’s title track is an interesting one, a pop-country banger of a love song. Again Lainey manages to do the vaguely stereotypical song content without it sounding in any way cringy, it feeling fresh and interesting. It almost feels like a neo-traditional country track, it having plenty of elements and inspiration from 90s and before as well as a modern tinge to it. It’s another simple track in terms of the arrangement, it following the simple radio structure, but it’s a fantastic song all the same, and fits the tone of the album perfectly!

‘Call a Cowboy’ is another fun, albeit another slow track. The same can be said for the likes of ‘Counting Chickens’, ‘Middle of it’ and ‘Devil Don’t Go There’. All are fantastic tracks, and spread pretty evenly throughout the album so as to keep plenty of variety and keep it interesting. And on a 14-track country album, you’ve gotta expect some ballads, and no one does them quite like Lainey. And there are definite highlights to both, too. Particularly the former’s massive, epic, rocky final chorus, and the latter’s amazing lyrics and vocal melodies.

Single ‘Hang tight Honey’ is a fun, upbeat, infectiously catchy track. It’s another great choice for a single, too. It fits perfectly with the current radio-country-rock vibe, and damn, that chorus is amazing. It’s the perfect blend of old and new school. And we even get an awesome guitar solo in the middle, a highlight of the album as it’s packed full of emotion and soul. I’d LOVE to hear and dance along to this song live, and it’s another easily playlisted track!

‘Bar in Baton Rouge’ starts slow with some beautiful acoustic guitar work, but picks up into an awesome plodding rock chorus, the guitars and gaps between the chorus adding so much. Meanwhile, another single, ‘4x4xU’ feels like it stepped straight out of the late 90s/early 2000s country scene. It has a similar style, tempo and structure as the former track, but damn, it feels completely different. That chorus is incredible, and the subtle organ in the back is amazing. It’s like a country-rock ballad, and is a fantastic love song. This album is really packed full of highlights!

We get a straight up Southern rock intro to ‘Ring Finger’ before it drops down into a subdued disco style. It reminds me a lot of the Cadillac Three’s Tabasco and Sweet Tea album, and I love it! Both parts/styles work surprisingly amazing together, and it’s something I was not expecting Lainey to come out with. However, fuck, it’s amazing. And then we go full country for the chorus, and it’s all I could ever want! This is another massive album highlight, and I really hope it gets the love it deserves, not being a single and all. It’s another track I wanna hear live, and I think they could do some really fun stuff with it. That whole outro bit goes HARD.

The closing track, ‘Whiskey Coloured Crayon’; a fitting country song title and a fitting closing song for the album. The slower-track-closing-the-album trope has grown on me over the years (or more my hatred of it has softened), and as far as that goes, this is one of the best. It’s an emotional end to an emotional album, and a beautiful track in its own right. The cute yet heartbreaking sentiment behind the track works perfectly, and gave me goosebumps by the end. I do think it could have build into something truly special by the end instead of fizzling out, but damn, what an ending!

Overall: this was just as good as I expected it to be! It definitely feels like it builds on her last album, it’s certainly a step up and is spurred on by her sudden mega-stardom. There truly isn’t a bad track on it, and I’ve ended up with a good over half of it on my playlist, at this point. The only very minor gripes I have are personal, and really don’t reflect ant issues with the album in any way. It’s certainly going to be up there in the discussion of album of the year when December rolls around, I’m sure. And I’mma be spinning this a lot over the next few months to prepare for that!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

Drake Milligan Rocks the Ritz!

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Holy shit. That was a bit good.

We had the absolute pleasure of heading down to the beautiful Ritz in Manchester to catch the amazing Drake Milligan during his first ever, sold out run of UK headline shows. We got there half an hour before doors and were already queuing around the block, signalling just how big of a name the guy is going to be moving forward. But how was the show? Well, outside of the statement above, we’re here to tell you all about it!

Firstly, opening for Drake on this run is the amazing Luke Flear. I’d never heard of the Leeds lad before Saturday night but damn, he didn’t half impress me! Obvious Bon Jovi comparisons aside (the hair, the voice, the fact that he played ‘Dead or Alive’…) Luke has an incredibly interesting sound and style for a UK artist. Country is still in its infancy stages with a lot of artists out here, so to see someone so comfortably writing excellent country songs is amazing to see. Personal highlights for me were ‘Looks Country to Me’ and the beautiful piano ballad, ‘Red Vodka’. However, for just one man on a big stage by himself, he has such a fantastic presence that more than filled it out. And he had the crowd on his side throughout the entire set too, not something easily achieved when you’re the sole opener for a sold out, big name. If you ever get the chance to see him live, I would highly recommend it,as he put on one hell of a show. Hopefully next time I see him, he can have a band backing him, as the songs pop off even more on track!

After a short break, we were then hit by one of the best shows I think I’ve ever seen. I’d heard how good Drake and his band were across the three nights they did Islington, but I somehow still wasn’t quite prepared for what I witnessed. This was an absolute masterclass of life country music, both traditional and modern.

Opening on a phenomenal cover of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, right out of the gate it showcases not only Drakes talent for playing, vocals and performance, but also immediately highlights every other member of the band, too. Then, whether it was Dallas/Forth Worth powerhouses like ‘Bad Day to Be a Beer’ and ‘Over Drinkin’ Under Thinkin’’, or Jukebox EP tracks like ‘I Got a Problem’ or the title track, the early set was already a huge, loud, crowd singalong. Heck, he even managed to get the crowd singing to two so-far unreleased tracks, both of which are fantastic. So, by the time we got to ‘What I Couldn’t Forget’, ‘Dance of a Lifetime’ and ‘Kiss Goodbye All Night’, I’m shocked the crowd had any voices left at all! Then we still had awesome covers like ‘Burning Love’, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ (sped up, heavied up and awesome) and of course the epic, raucous closer ‘Sounds Like Something I’d Do’. We got nearly two hours worth of a set, over 20 tracks, and it was sadly over in a flash still. Heck, we even got Drake’s breakout Christmas track, much to the love of the crowd!

And, just as good as the songs that were played, was the show each and every performer put on. I don’t think I’ve quite seen someone as born to be a showman as Drake Milligan is. He’s the perfect blend of Elvis and George Strait, holding the crowd in the palm of his hand from the very first note to the very last. His vocals are just as insanely impressive as they are on track; while I honestly don’t know how anyone has that much energy to move/shake around so much, as well as have that level of charisma, for such a long set. However, the rest of the band also put on one hell of a show, too. Whether it was interacting with Drake or with each other, they were just as energetic, and looked like they were having a blast on stage. Everyone complimented each other perfectly, and are all also criminally underrated players. Their solos at the end all showed just how amazing they are, and was another huge highlight moment of the night for me.

Overall, it was one of the best gigs I think I’ve ever been to, honestly. Luke was amazing, but Drake Milligan and his band are just on another level. I’ve seen plenty of bands in my day, be it country or otherwise, and very few are anywhere close to the show I witnessed on Saturday night. Everything from the performance to the songs to the sound to just Drake’s endearingly cocky personality just worked so well together. I’ve honestly never heard 1500 people get so loud, either. I cannot recommend Drake enough, on track but especially live. He’s well on his way to becoming a massive name in country, and I don’t think he’s ever going to be playing venues this small over here again. It was a party through and through, and the crowd made it just as good as everything else. It’s been a fantastic year for live music here at Overtone, but goddamn, I think Drake Milligan just took the cake!

Reviews

Kentucky Gold: An Amazing Debut Album from Kyle Daniel!

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Well, this has been a long time coming, hasn’t it? I remember speaking to Kyle about this album back a couple of years ago now, and I’ve been eagerly and impatiently anticipating it ever since. So, for it to finally be out and for me to be able to sit down and review it is damn exciting. Let’s dive in without wasting any more time, shall we?

‘Can’t Hold Me Back’ bursts in with a rocky riff right off the bat, firmly establishing the sound and tone of the album immediately. It reminds me a lot of some of Black Stone Cherry’s stuff, especially when Kyle’s low, powerful vocals come in over the top. He’s going to do very well in the UK with this sort of sound. The chorus is awesome and catchy as anything. We even get an awesome guitar solo tucked in the middle, even more firmly establishing it in the southern rock side. I loved the duelling vocals at the start of the final chorus, it almost sounding like Chris Stapleton with the soulful delivery, and it added another great level to it all. This was the perfect way to open this album, going hard and heavy but having plenty of country swagger laced into it too. It easily made our playlist!

Maggie Rose adds so much to ‘Fire Me Up’, making it another instant, massive highlight of the album. She adds so much to Kyle’s already amazing vocals with her incredible harmonies, making it all even more catchy. And it fits in perfectly with the slightly slower pace and more country sound. It’s a simple song in terms of riffing and structure, but it’s absolutely fantastic and has the potential to be a massive radio hit. It gives off big Blackberry Smoke vibes for me. It’s another excellent song, and a more lighter, uplifting one than the opener.

‘Runnin’ From Me’ is another fun track, opening on the infectiously catchy chorus vocals, gang-vocal style. The lyrics immediately hit hard too, being fantastically written and all too true. It also adds even more country vibes to the sound, being at a plodding pace and even having some awesome slide guitar work. It immediately gives off vibes of fellow Bowling Green country boys Everette, in all the best ways. It’s amazing how many different styles of country Kyle has covered so far on this record; a true testament to his abilities as a songwriter. It’s yet another incredible song, and another to sneak onto our playlist!

I love the addition of the organ on ‘A Man Like That’, giving it much more of a blues feel with the slower pace and stripped-back instrumentation, too. It’s yet another awesome style that Kyle pulls off perfectly. We also get a phenomenal guitar solo tucked away in the middle, my favourite of the album, it fits the track amazingly. It’s a fun song that’s very well put together, and another I’m sure to be obsessed with moving forward!

Songs like ‘Southern Sounds’, ‘Following the Rain’ and closer ‘Divided we Are’ are all slower, more stripped-back, almost ballad tracks. All are fantastic in their own way, with the former featuring the insane vocals of Kendell Marvel, his low tones fitting the slow drums and clean guitar chords perfectly. Meanwhile the latter is a beautiful, emotion-filled piano ballad, and the perfect way to close the album. The lyrics are fantastic, and Kyle’s delivery of them hit hard, giving me goosebumps. And the way all the instrumentation swelled for the last minute and a half… DAMN. And man, ‘Following the Rain’ is just a beautiful, simple acoustic track.

I’d heard both ‘Me & My Old Man’ and ‘Summer Down South’ before writing this review. I’ve filmed a reaction video to the former which should be out around the same time as this review. The cliff-notes from that are that it’s a beautiful, touching tribute to his father, and a catchy, awesome, up-tempo ballad that may or may not have nearly made me cry. Meanwhile the latter is a fun, bouncy track featuring one of my favourite bands, The Cadillac Three. It’s a high-energy, country-rock track, and unsurprisingly Kyle and Jared’s vocals work perfectly together, the whole of TC3 doing an awesome job on the track. Both easily made it onto our playlist, and I’ve been spinning them a lot!

The last few tracks on the album are just as good as all the rest. ‘Deep in the Woods’ is a neo-traditional country track brimming with swagger and having some awesome backing vocals and harmonica. Meanwhile ‘Wild, Free and Easy’ is a slower, modern radio-country track, but with enough of a rock edge that sets it apart and makes it distinctly Kyle Daniel. Finally, ‘Everyone’s Talkin’’ features the amazing Sarah Zimmermann and is another plodding, fun blues track. And I love that it’s another track where we get an awesome, rockin’ extended outro, which he does so well. All three are excellent tracks and enjoyable in their own ways. I simply don’t want to come across as an even bigger fan girl as I am by gushing over each track for the same awesome thing!

Overall: This is amazing. Somehow, it’s worth the wait! Every track on this is incredible, and all have such character and variety. He’s somehow surpassed the expectations I had for this release, and has put out something truly special. If this doesn’t propel him towards becoming a major star in the country-rock sphere, then I officially give up with the music industry! I’m gonna be spinning this a lot moving forward, and I cannot wait to be hearing it live at The Long Road festival next month!

The Score: 9.5/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: HARDY, Eminem and More!

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A pretty stacked week of New Music Mondays this week, featuring some massive names in rock, country, metal and even rap! Let’s dive in!

HARDY: Quit!!

So, it seems like a rather controversial opinion these days, but we loved HARDY’s last album. To the point where it almost feels unfair that he’s put another out just over a year later! However, it’s hard to complain about more music from the master country songwriter, and if the singles I’ve heard already are anything to go by, this will be another amazing album!

HARDY’s first foray into a full rock album is certainly still a damn interesting, fun listen. There’s still a hint of country every now and again, but has more of a radio rock sound, for the most part. I hate that the closest comparison I find my brain keep trying to make is MGK. It’s certainly better than his last album, though. Songs like ‘ROCKSTAR’, the darker, heavier ‘JIM BOB’ and ‘PSYCHO’ are all great.

However, I do think that without the crutch of the inventive album story and concept from Mockingbird, a few of the tracks do fall a bit flat. Outside of a few great lyrics, chorus hooks and breakdown riffs, the songs are largely forgettable. And heck, a couple even boarder on cringy, sadly. They even manage to completely misuse Daddy Durst on ‘SOUL4SALE’, not giving him anything to work his rapping or screaming with, instead giving him and almost ’Behind Blue Eyes’ ballad to sing on. I loved the fusion of rock and country on his last album, but this has gone to show that, outside of a few songs, he cannot write straight rock songs as well as country ones. It’s not bad by any stretch, but barely comparable to Mockingbird and not something I’ll be revisiting much outside of the singles and a couple of other tracks. It’s a bit of a disappointment for me, sadly, but still gets a solid 6.5/10

Eminem: The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)

The rap god himself is back with another album, the first since 2020. You’d have to have been living under a rock if you didn’t see the massive impact that ‘Houdini’ had, everyone saying that Slim Shady was back and the song very much implying the same. Though I was a child, I grew up at the time when Shady was at the top of the world, and absolutely adore those first three albums. So, if the whole thing is gonna be like that, I’m down. And while I’ll be sad if this is indeed a swan song for this style of Em’s work, hopefully he goes out with a bang!

It’s certainly back to the older style, it feeling like a continuation of The Eminem Show. There’s a lot to love on here, too. Between ‘Brand New Dance’, ‘Antichrist’, ‘Habits’ and the lead single are all massive highlights. Heck, I even really enjoyed ‘Guilty Conscience 2’, it bordering on 2edgy4me but did get a chuckle or two and I always like when Em does the battle-inside-his-head tracks. He’s still fantastic at his craft too, spitting bars pretty quickly and writing the melodies well, as well as plenty of clever lyrics.

It’s not all perfect, though. Firstly, at over an hour and 19 tracks, it’s a slog to get through. I know Eminem Show was long too, but this isn’t quite at the quality of that to warrant it being this long. And, as I touched on before, a few of the tracks still have that edgy-for-edgys-sake feel to them. In Em’s defence, nowhere near as many as on previous albums, but the feeling of him saying controversial stuff just to please his fans and cause a media buzz did shine through occasionally.

However, overall, it’s not a bad album, and very much feels like a return to form for a guy who has spent so long away from it. I completely get wanting to change things up and make what sort of music you like, but the fans have been crying out for this for a while, I do think it delivers for the most part. I really enjoyed it, and will certainly be listening to a good few songs from it again in the coming months. 8.5/10

P.S. why does Em hate ‘midgits’ so much on this album? 😅

Graphic Nature: Who Are You When No One is Watching?

Nu-metalcore sounds like something right up my street, and somehow, though I’ve seen the name around everywhere, I’ve not managed to check the Kent band out before, until now. It was everything I wanted and more, too. It’s crushingly heavy, but still has plenty of catchiness and some melody, as well as some amazing riffing. It also has a surprising amount of electronic influence to it, the record scratching being a nice touch! and whether it’s hardcore screams or more lower growls, Harvey Freeman is a criminally underrated vocalist. And those breakdowns… DAMN.

It’s 42-minutes of perfect modern British metalcore, like the perfect blend of early Architects and Vexed, of course with a healthy dose of Slipknot in there for good measure! Songs like ‘Blinded’, ‘Something I’m Not’ and ‘Low’ are all huge highlights but, honestly, there isn’t a bad track on the album. It’s angry and aggressive and heavy in all the best ways, and is right up my street. If you’re into the heavy stuff at all, check this out, I promise you’ll love it as much as I do! I’m gonna be listening to this a lot moving forward, and I HAVE to see them live now, this would pop off. It’s a very easy 9/10 from me!

Megan Moroney: Am I Okay?

Megan is in a similar boat as HARDY; releasing another album just a year after her breakout one. The difference is, however, that this not only feels like an extension of Lucky, but also holds up to the quality, being another awesome release. I’ve been a big fan of the singles she’d put out beforehand, from ‘Indifferent’ to ‘Man on the Moon’, but they are backed up by some fantastic album tracks like the title one and ‘I Know You’. I do feel like 14 tracks is just a touch too long, especially when a lot of them are the similar acoustic-ballad style and tempo. However, having said that, I wouldn’t know which couple of songs to cut, as they are all excellent.

When I first listened I thought ‘this is great, but not quite as good as her debut, it hasn’t impacted me the same’. But given that I’ve got half of it on my playlist already, and that I feel like her debut grew on me more and more with subsequent listens, that it just isn’t the case. The emo cowgirl has done it again, knocking it out of the park and proving that she is going to be a massive name in the country world for years to come. And, for the second year in a row, she’s guaranteed to be pretty high up in our albums of the year list, easily! 8.5/10

Thirteen Goats: Capricorn Rising

The BC death metal band are back with album number two. We checked out their debut back in 2022 and honestly, I remember enjoying the album a lot more than I’ve given it credit for in the review. And, unsurprisingly, this is another awesome release! It’s packed full of awesome, heavy riffs, and some incredible clean and harsh vocals, all of which have pretty catch, melodic moments to shine through. ‘Sign of the Goat’ is an incredibly strong album opener, but honestly there isn’t a bad track on the album, with plenty of other highlights, including ‘A Wolf in Shepherd’s Clothing’ and ‘Permission to Die’. They also have a pretty cool image and theme, leaning fully into the pagan/satanic stereotypes of the genre. It’s 42-minutes of a brutal, heavy assault, and is massively enjoyable. It’s not going to be for everyone, but for those into the heavy end, I’d certainly recommend checking it out! And, while I would say it is better than their debut, it’s also a testament to how heavy this site has made me, that I love this now! 8/10, great stuff!

Mr Big: Ten

The hard rock band are back with their (surprisingly) tenth full length release. It is their first in seven years and, given that they are on their final tour, I imagine it will be their last. Talk about going out with a bang, too. For those who are a fan of the band, this is right up their usual street of funky, blues-infused, fun rock performed and written to perfection. Opener ‘Good Luck Trying’ is a great example of this, and is also a fantastic track. The rest of the album continues the same quality too, being plenty of highlights, from ‘I Am You’ to ‘Courageous’. It’s the perfect blend of Bon Jovi and Electric Boys; catchy choruses and melodies and some awesome playing, of course the legendary Paul Gilbert being a big high point. If this truly is the bands last hurrah, they have produced one hell of an album to go out on, it feeling like a true culmination of their near-40 year career. It’s hard not to love this album, and I’d recommend it to any rock fan! 8.5/10

The Bridge City Sinners: In the Age of Doubt

2024 is the year of spooky banjo time, and this band are very much leading the charge alongside Amigo the Devil. Spoiler 1: Amigo is very high on our list of top albums this year so far. Spoiler 2: I think this album will be, too.

Don’t get me wrong, it certainly won’t be for everyone. But fuck, I loved this. The further through I got, the more and more ended up on my playlist. I think currently I have over half of the album on it. Dark/neo-folk is quickly becoming one of my favourite genres, and it’s in large part thanks to songs like ‘Doubt’, ‘Crazy’ and ‘Sinner’s Saloon’. Every track on this album is incredible, though, and it’s been put together in the perfect arrangement.

Libby Lux has one of the best vocal ranges of any genre currently, going from jazzy Amy Winehouse to Danny Filth at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, the rest of the band are so insanely talented, crafting some real interesting melodies and rhythms, even more impressive without a drummer present. We need more fiddle and double bass in darker music.

It’s 34-minutes of awesomeness, and I can’t get enough. I’ve had it on a good few times already this last weekend, and I doubt that will be changing much in the coming weeks and months. It’s a truly special release that I would recommend to anyone, regardless of your usual music taste. I can’t not, it’s gonna be 10/10.

The Mourning: Hush

The sophomore album of the Florida-based prog metal band is true masterclass in technicality and talent. ‘Chaos Machine’ opens the album up perfectly, showing off the bands skill, style and sound. It’s like Periphery, Polyphia and Coheed and Cambria all met and had a baby, and I am all for it! The sheer mind-blowing talent continues throughout the whole album too, all 51-minutes being incredible. You can tell I’m not at all jealous, right…? It’s so hard to pick out highlights as they are all so good, but also do share a similar sound and formula, for the most part. Having said that, the Tool-esque ‘I Feel the Rain’ was awesome and very different! It’s an incredibly interesting album and certainly one for anyone into prog or djent at all! It gets an easy 8/10 from me! Hopefully it’s not another six year wait for another album, as these guys could be massive in the sub-genre!

Johnny Blue Skies/Sturgill Simpson: Passage Du Desir

This is a real interesting release. Sturgill returns after what was thought to be a career-ending injury and retirement under a new moniker, and having more of a chilled out, traditional blues sound than his previous five releases. Sadly, I don’t like it quite as much as his Sturgill stuff. However, I admire the crap out of him for his reinvention and going in a new direction, especially when he still had a huge fan base for his more country stuff. I’m curious to see what bigger fans of the guy have to think about the album, I must admit!

Songs like ‘Scooter Blues’ and the countrier, emotional story of ‘Who I Am’ are awesome, and massive highlights of the album. I love that he gives the tracks more room to breathe too, some going seven plus minutes, feeling very bluesy. It’s certainly not a bad album, it’ll just take some getting used to. It’s certainly a good album to relax too, almost having an easy listening air to it all. It certainly grew on me more the more I listened, and will most likely continue to do so moving forward. But, for now, it gets a solid 7/10 from me!

Reviews

What a Time to be Alive: Debut EP from Revenant!

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The debut EP from Uk-based blues rock outfit Revenant is out this coming Friday. I am not at all familiar with the band, but am always excited for more hard rock/blues music, especially local stuff, so just had to check it out!

‘Coming Back to Life’ opens the EP perfectly, with a heavy blues riff just dripping in swagger. The guitars drop out for the verse, replaced by the powerful, Blackberry Smoke-esque vocals. The bass and drums do a great job of keeping the stomping pace and feel up, and the pre builds to an awesome, catchy chorus. The harmonies on the vocals are awesome and add so much to the sound. We also get an absolutely amazing guitar solo tucked in the middle of the track, reminding me a lot of Slash’s style. It starts off slow and quickens as the instrumentation behind it gets more intense, which I LOVE. It’s an amazing song, and the perfect way to open this EP! It’s a track that easily jumps onto our playlist!

Similar vibes continue through ‘Draw the Lines’, another awesome riff and some great vocals. The verse is a touch heavier, the instruments playing between the vocal lines and sounding awesome. It all builds to another great pre and chorus, it giving off more AC/DC vibes than country at this point, though it does still have that twang. The closest comparison I can think of is actually another UK band, Sons of Liberty. That’s certainly not a bad thing, either! The bridge riff is heavy, simple awesomeness, and another great solo comes in over the top of it. It’s another amazing song!

‘The Healer’ slows things down pretty perfectly. It opens on just a clean guitar and the vocals, sounding awesome. The drums herald the coming of the rest of the instrumentation, it getting more distorted but staying slower and more ballady. And yet we still get another technically and sonically brilliant solo too. The guitaring has been a massive highlight on this EP, and that’s saying a lot given the quality of everything else. The chorus is massive too, something I can easily hear ringing out across huge festival crowds. And the lyrics here are incredible, my favourite on the release. It’s an awesome song, and another that easily makes it onto our playlist!

The heaviness returns with ‘The Masquerade’, an awesome bluesy riff made even better with some great use of the wah. The track follows a similar structure as the opening song, a very radio-friendly writing style that usually produces awesome results, like this! The call-and-response from the backing vocals in the chorus was awesome and will be a lot of fun live. The wah returns for the epic guitar solo, used perfectly enough that it would give Kirk Hammett a hard on. The whole song is awesome though, and yet another that sneaks onto our Spotify!

The closing track, ‘Rolling on my Back’, slows things down again. It opens much the same as ‘The Healer’, the great vocals over a clean guitar, slowly building more and more. This one is much slower build though, not kicking in really until the second chorus. I love the writing to it, the structure making it stand out to the other songs on the EP. And even then, it stays fairly simple and stripped-back all the way through, much more closely resembling an old-school blues track. It’s an interesting way to close the EP too, as usually bands do a big epic finale or an acoustic ballad these days, while this was neither. It’s another perfect representation of what the band is about though, and is another great song!

Overall: This was awesome! All five tracks knocked it out of the park and gave fans and new listeners plenty to love and sink their teeth into. As usual, it simply wasn’t long enough. I’d be curious to see what the band do with an album too, as while they didn’t venture too far away from their core sound with this release, there were certainly flashes of diversity, and I think they could craft something awesome with more time. Still though, that shouldn’t take anything away from this release. I loved every track and will have a lot of it stuck in my head for days to come! If you are in any way a rock fan, check this out!

The Score: 9/10

Interviews & Features

Redferrin: ‘I’ve just been trying to hold on and keep up!’

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We had the incredible chance to sit and chat with country’s next megastar, Redferrin, a couple of months after the release of his debut EP and first trip over to the UK for Country 2 Country. Check out as we chat about both of those, as well as his future plans with releases and touring!

Sadly, due to technical difficulties it is just a written one for now. However, fingers crossed I can fix that soon and release what I can of the audio!

We’ve been trying to chat since before C2C, what was that like?

Oh man, it was an eye opening, bucket list experience for me. I just got a passport for that, I’d never left the country until then. I’ve always been a blue-collar construction guy, never had any need to travel abroad, never knew how I could. That was so fun for me, to get to see people singing the songs all the way across the world. Get to soak up some other cultures, too. It was real inspiring, we wrote a song out there and recorded one in London. It’s called ‘Long As There’s a Bar’. We might call it ‘London Town’, I don’t know. But yeah, it was very impactful on me; it changed me in a good way.

I imagine there’s a fair difference between playing in the UK to the US?

Yes sir! The biggest difference I’ve noticed between here and there is mainly the way they listen. It’s almost like a writers round. At first you think maybe they don’t like you. Then the third chorus they all sing every word and it’s like ‘oh, y’all do know the song!’. It’s like they’re hanging on every word, they want to hear what you’re saying instead of sing over you. I thought it was so sweet, how they show artists such kindness and respect. The way they listen is really impactful.

Even watching other artists, the kindness and respect they have… like my microphone cut out at the O2. They had been really quiet, all the way going through the first two thirds of the song they were silent. Then my mic started cutting out and they got so loud. They had my back and carried me through the song until my mic came back on. That was one of the most impactful moments ever for me because, like I said, I didn’t even think they knew the song! It was special man, it was really cool!

You put out the EP about a month or so ago now right? What’s it like to see the reaction to it?

It came out February 16th, so we’re running on about two months now, I can’t believe it!

Man, getting that project out was special to me. I wanted to do one for a long time. My music has such a range, it’s so diverse, that sometimes a single at a time it’s just kinda hard to really understand what I’m about. To hear it all cohesively and as one big story, I’m hopefully that it’s kinda shined a light on what I’m about and what stories I wanna tell. Maybe people feel a little safer to dive in. So it’s been really sweet. And the response has been amazing, way more than I could have asked for. I’m just super thankful and inspired to make another project!

I’ve just been trying to hold on and keep up!

Are you thinking of another EP for it?

Yeah, I guess that’s kinda the plan for now. I want it to be a continuation. They [the label] didn’t want to drop an album right away. Honestly, I felt like I had 10 great songs, but I didn’t have 15 or 20 that I really wanted to put together. A lot of them felt a little more singular. I think this will be a continuation of that first one. Show a different side of me but make sure it’s still connected to what I just did. I want people to feel that consistency and safety, like they know what they’re gonna get from me, not that it’s gonna be a different song every time. It’s fun, it’s coming off really nice.

We’ve been writing this one a little bit different, kinda writing it all on guitar instead of to tracks. I think it’s made a big difference in the melodies and some of the storytelling. It’s a little freer doing it that way. I think it’s gonna be pretty fun, I can’t wait to share these new ones!

You’ve got quite a busy year planned, right?

Yes sir, it’s getting pretty crazy now. It’s about every weekend, which I’m super thankful for. We’re touring with Billy Currington, which is one of my favourite artists ever. I don’t want to make him feel old but he got me through some of my first breakups ever! So to be able to hear those songs live… and we’ve talked about writing some songs on this tour, so to know that I’m gonna be able to pick up a guitar with Billy is gonna be insane. Really looking forward to that.

We’ve got festivals coming. C2C is the only one I’ve ever done. So looking forward to getting to play some of these and just keep interacting with people. Gonna do a headlining tour. Gonna come back over to the UK. Hopefully this fall. I don’t have any specific dates yet, but like I said, that trip was so impactful for me and talking to everyone there and they said they might want to bring us back, so I just can’t wait to get back out there. It was really good for me.

You’re playing with Luke Combs too, right?

Yeah, this weekend actually, I’ll be doing the tailgate show and kicking things off. That’s kinda a bucket list thing too. He’s one of the dudes right now. To be put in the same sort of conversations and be able to come be a small part of his show is really special. So shoutout Luke and Whiskey Jim and thank y’all for giving us the chance to come and play these songs!

I imagine you approach a gig like that differently to your own headline show?

Yeah, you know you get a little less time so you’ve gotta make the songs count. You’ve gotta be a bit quicker with your words in between, and be a little tighter and more intentional. If you have two hours you can kinda cut a little loose here and there. I like the differences. I have a lot of fun opening for other folks as you don’t know if they’re there for you or them. It’s a chance to maybe bring in some new people or nail down your own ones a little better. It’s a win win all round!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of?

I mean I would love to go out with Post Malone. Him or someone like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift level people who can sell a stadium out three nights in a row. If you can get on something like that that would be bucket list! I think the biggest reason is to see how it works, and to see behind the scenes. There’s so much that goes into just getting me to open. I know what goes into being a drummer so I can’t imagine a million dollar light rig being set up every night! It’s a lot to think about so to be able to see it in action and realise what it takes to get it done would be really inspiring.

I think stuff like that helps me dream, makes it seem a little more realistic, like maybe one day I could do it. It’d be sweet and really give me some fuel to keep pushing, so big prays for that to happen one day!

If you could have written one song, what would it be?

Man, I got asked that recently and it’s so tough, there’s so many I love! I’m not too good at writing what I like to all Disney songs: made up songs. Pretty much everything I write I really went through, or one of my buddies really went through. But ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, I know that Johnny never shot nobody. But he told that story like it really happened. It really inspired me, stuff like that makes me want to be more creative. I feel like people relate when I tell stories a little more than when I make them up, but man I wish I could make one up that good!