JW-Jones - Everything Now

He’s an engaging little fella, JW-Jones.  The fresh-faced Canadian is a talented songwriter, with a zinging guitar style that reflects his study of blues greats.  And these traits are well to the fore on his latest album Everything Now.
‘Keeping Me Up’, for example, is a neat little tune with the protagonist relating the tale of a sleepless night listening to his partner’s enigmatic sleep-talking.  It comes dressed in some crunchy guitar over smacking drums and bopping bass, with some satisfyingly squelchy guitar

JW-Jones goes happily double denim

Pic by Mark Maryanovich

breaks as a bonus.  The following ‘Papa’s In The Pen’ is also good stuff, but in a contrasting vein, as Jones draws on his own troubled childhood – as he did with ‘Who I Am’ on his 2017 High Temperature outing - to describe parents who are “Not your average father figure, not your average heroine”, set to broody backing that opens in cinematic, Morrisons-ish fashion before settling into off-kilter riffing and rumbling bass.  Jones delivers the vocal with the conviction you’d expect, and his squealing lead guitar is equally characterful.
His way with a personal story is also evident on ‘When You Left’, a convincing pen picture of the feel of a suddenly empty house, inspired by the death of Jones’ mother.  The words and music combine to conjure up the atmosphere, with mournful commentary from the Texas Horns adding to the vibe, while Jones adds some pin-sharp, pinging guitar.  The chorus could be more impactful though, and in fact as intriguing and well played as several of these songs are, they’re often lacking a bit in the hook department.
Nevertheless, the guest appearance by Jimmie Vaughan on the tootling, toe-tapping blues of ‘Take Your Time’ is worth the admission.  It’s lightweight but pleasant, with Vaughan delivering a brittle, jangling solo before he and Jones get down to trading some licks in an entertaining, keep-you-guessing fashion.  ‘To Tell You The Truth (I Lied)’ is a slow blues that feels like it’s arrived from yesteryear via some time tunnel, but works well with its minimal approach on the opening verse, all chiming guitar and trills of piano and organ courtesy of producer and multi-instrumentalist Gordie Johnson.  It comes with another interesting lyric, a warped, sparse solo from Jones, and some sweeping, romantic strings to increase the sense of drama towards the end.
Elsewhere though, the generally sunny vibe sometimes leans a bit too far towards airy blue-eyed soul, as on ‘My Luck’, its virtual sequel ‘It’s Not Raining In LA’ (which gains most of its interest from some clever allusions to ‘California Dreaming’), and the rather too-sweet-to-be-wholesome ‘I Choose You’.
The closing ‘Good To Be True’ rather sums things up.  There’s a snappy, perky vibe once again, and lots of buzzing, fuzzing guitar tones to pique the interest, and some muscle is flexed along the way to underpin an all too brief exchange of tasty guitar between Jones and Gordie Johnson.  But when you get down to it, the song lacks the grabber of a hook that it really needs.
Everything Now is a likeable album, with good musicianship to appreciate all round, not least the nimble fretwork of JW-Jones, who also underlines his storytelling credentials on the best songs here.  But on a few tunes there’s just a bit too much of a lightly funky, happy-go-lucky kinda thing going on - which admittedly suits Jones' light, breezy voice - when a few more sharp angles wouldn’t go amiss.  Maybe next time JW-Jones will pull out all the stops he’s capable of.
 
Everything Now is out now on Solid Blues Records, distributed by Stony Plain.

Gráinne Duffy - Dirt Woman Blues

There are, in case you hadn’t noticed, a wheen of excellent woman blues’n’roots artists out there these days – sisters doin’ it for themselves, as it were.  And Ireland’s Gráinne Duffy is very much one of ‘em.  The woman sings like a bird, plays some mean guitar, and with her guitar buddy and husband Paul Sherry writes some damn good songs.  What’s not to like?
Dirt Woman Blues picks up where its predecessor Voodoo Blues left off, in a rootsy vein, but exploring some new angles. On a few tracks here Duffy, who can make her voice soar and swirl with panache, dials things down to a lower, more restrained pitch – and brings something fresh to her repertoire in doing so.  ‘Rise Above’, which comes halfway through this set, is a good example of the resulting mood.  A pattering rhythm and spangly guitar create the platform for a

Come out from behind that guitar Gráinne, and take a bow

Pic by Rob Blackham

reflective Duffy vocal that comes over like a female Paul Rodgers.  It’s a simple enough song, but with a deep, deep vibe about it.
There are hints of Free and Bad Company in the opening two tracks ‘Well Well Well’ and ‘Dirt Woman Blues’ too.  The first swings lazily, with some great slide embroidery that I’m guessing is courtesy of Paul Sherry, while Elijah Ford delivers some rubbery bass playing worthy of Andy Fraser, and Duffy mostly just goes with the flow, rolling along with the groove.  Meanwhile the slow and measured title track kicks off with mellow chiming chords and sparse lead guitar notes, establishing a real old bluesy feel as it builds up a head of steam, and benefitting from some very Kossoff-like lead guitar laden with sustain.
Duffy has often crossed musical borders beyond pure blues though, and she does it again here with ‘Running Back To You’, which opens in country-ish fashion á la Patsy Cline, but quickly folds in soulfulness worthy of Etta James.  Duffy is a singer capable of slaying an audience with her take on James’ ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’, and the attributes that make that possible are evident here – bags of feeling, and phrasing that develops plenty of tension and release, while some mucho simpatico guitar work weaves around her voice.  There’s similar soulfulness on ‘Hold On To You’, Duffy’s aching vocal spilling out beyond the essentially simple song structure.  The backing is slow and steady, with a layer of organ embroidered by some low-end guitar remarks and chiming piano.  Is it blues?  Soul?  Americana?  All of ‘em, maybe?
Duffy and co can rock too, mind you.  ‘Sweet Liberation’ may start off calm and contemplative, but three minutes in they suddenly crunch into a higher gear of crisp drumming and gutsy guitar, and La Duffy cracks out a more impassioned vocal over tangled, rocking guitar and rattling piano.  ‘Yes I Am’ similarly eases in on a pulsing beat and long, gritty chords, but then explodes into driving guitar, booming bass and rattling drums, prefacing an urgent Duffy vocal and some wailing lead guitar that’s more about feistiness than finesse, and culminating in a scrabbling, feedback-challenged, eyeballs-out rock’n’rollin’ solo.  I reckon they had fun cutting that one.
The closing ‘Killycrum’ has a laid-back feel with a hint of the Allmans about it, and a languid vocal from Duffy.  Then a rhythmic bridge triggers some jangling guitar and Gráinne getting more assertive as she sings “I want to show you, the way you showed me” in a fashion that’s assured more than delicate, prompting the thought that once upon a time, before Sharleen Spiteri became a 'star', Texas were this good.  
Dirt Woman Blues is a classy album from a classy artist, reinforcing Gráinne Duffy’s standing among the modern-day sorority of leading blues’n’roots women.  If you're not familiar with her, you need to fix that quick.
 
Dirt Woman Blues is out now, and can be ordered here.

Gimme 5 - Mike Ross puts together his personal playlist

Mike Ross is a singer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist - and a sharp-tongued observer of modern life.  He recently released his latest album Third Eye Open, so let's give him the chance to spin the bottle and point to some songs, artists and characters that get his mojo working.  Gimme 5, Mike!

Mike Ross - If you're sitting comfortably, he'll begin

Pic by Rob Blackham

Gimme 5 songs, old or new, that have been on your radar recently.

'Dust In A Baggie' by Billy Strings: "An unbelievable singer and guitarist that I've just been introduced to - he has an incredible story having grown up in poverty. His dad taught him how to play old bluegrass tunes from a young age and he's just the best there's ever been it seems. So humble and authentic too, really shaking the country music scene up in the USA and beyond."
 
'The Mavericks' by Juanita Stein: "Juanita's a friend of mine and a fellow transplanted Brightonian - she writes incredible songs and sings them so beautifully. I played bass in her band for a show recently and hope to do more in the future, the songs are such a joy to play."
 
'The Lee Shore' by Stephen Stills, with David Crosby: "Two of my favourite singer songwriters ever. Crosby died recently and I just sobbed for days man - such a massive influence on me. The version of this I'm thinking of just came out on a Stills release Live in Berkeley 1971 and the whole album is great, but this is one of my favourite CSNY songs so I had to pick it."
 
'Be Here Now' by George Harrison: "Aaah George, beautiful, cosmic George. Here at his most
spiritual with a song played in open G tuning. I love the message here, ' the past....was...be here now'. Really helps me keep grounded in these days of media-induced 'permacrisis'."
 
'Come And Go Blues' by The Allman Brothers Band: "The Allmans are my besties! Hard to pick

Cheerful chappies the Allman Brothers Band - well, one of 'em at least

a favourite one by them, in fact mostly I'd go for something from the Live at the Fillmore album with Duane playing guitar, but this track from their first release post Duane's death has been on my car stereo a lot recently so it's in the list today."

Gimme 5 artists or bands who have had a big influence on your work.

The Rolling Stones: "I kind of forget about London's finest sometimes due to having played their mid 60's/mid70's 'golden era' back catalogue to DEATH when I was younger.  But they really had it all, from gritty blues to wild rock'n'roll, psychedelic dreamscapes, riff rock, country twang. The whole trick bag. And Mick Taylor, man. What a soloist."
 
AC/DC: "My first rock 'bromance' – from about age 11 I started listening to rock music and AC/DC were my favourites by a country mile. I'm more of a Bon Scott 'bad boy boogie' era guy than a 'shake your foundations' Brian Johnson man (even though my mum went to school with Brian!) but I love all their stuff up to about 1988. Bad boy boogies indeed. Red hot riffs and guitar tones to last you a lifetime."
 
Creedence Clearwater Revival: "More bad boy boogie from the California swamp kings! What a band – so far ahead of their time. I watched some live footage from about 1970 of them playing the Albert Hall and they were just RULING it – tight as hell with a great sound and hypnotising onstage presence. Shame how that all ended with them but John Fogerty is a massive influence on my songwriting, everything really."
 
The Allman Brothers Band: "Where do I start! I went to see them in the early 90s when I was just a teenager and they literally changed my life – 2 hour set with a 30 minute encore, just wailing the whole time. I rushed home and the next day I bought their Live at The Fillmore double album and it's still teaching me about groove, mood and taste to this day whenever I give it a spin. What a band!"
 
The Who: "The Who circa about 1971 are again a huge influence on me. Wonderful tight band

Pete Townshend prepares to spread some Marmite

Pic by Ross Halfin

live with endless energy and dynamics, Pete's songwriting is just on another level for me – so full of story and message. Powerful stuff."

Gimme 5 guests you’d love to invite to your ideal long lunch.

Pete Townshend: "Acerbic, sarcastic, knowledgeable and gifted - the 'Marmite' lunch companion!"
 
Larry Graham: "Bassist for Sly & The Family Stone. One bad mother. I want to hear first hand the story about how after he quit The Family, Sly tried to get him assassinated. Heavy dudes."
 
Neal Stephenson: "The author. A mind jammed full of incredible history and (un)believable
futures. The inventor of the term 'metaverse'."
 
William Gibson: "My other fave author. Wrote the books that inspired The Matrix. I borrowed the 'Clovis' name and concept of alternate futures influencing the past from his book The Peripheral for my The Clovis Limit Pts 1 & 2 records.
 
Gabor Mate: "The Canadian doctor and author. Every word he says blows my mind. His theories of how mental health and addiction connect both physically and spiritually are fascinating."
 
 
Just one track – pick one of your tracks that you’d share with a new listener to introduce your music.

"I'll go for my song ‘Third Eye Open’ – actually the last tune I wrote for the new album and it ended up being the title track! There was a big hole in the song list for the record and it needed something massive and sprawling to fill it. The brief was 'AC/DC playing Sabbath Riffs with a George Harrison bit in the middle' and that's exactly what we got I reckon. I think it's important to see what you say, especially these days where most media is manipulated so much that it's unrecognisable as truth or fiction and my lyrics here pull no punches, from attacking "petty moral signallers and slimy hypocrites" to imagining an end to oppression, pitiless hatred and greed."

Check out the Blues Enthused review of Mike's album Third Eye Open here.

And you can find details of Mike's forthcoming live shows here.

Ana Popovic - Power

I really enjoyed the most recent album by Ana Popovic, 2018’s Like It On Top.  With a fair amount of collaboration from Keb’ Mo’, it was full of cool and modern soul grooves, and sharp lyrics about what a woman wants and expects from the world – and from men.
Unfortunately, Power doesn’t repeat that success, partly because it rarely lives up to its title. Sure, it has its moments, but often there’s a sense of gloss rather than substance.  Opening track ‘Rise Up!’ is a case in point, lightly funky with burbling bass and swirls of organ, and

Ana Popovic - more noise from that Strat would be welcome
Pic by Brian Rasic

Popovic singing sweetly over the top.  It’s airy like a soufflé, with a bridge nudging towards Nu-soul territory, which isn’t my happy place. A couple of guitar breaks inject a touch of grit into proceedings, but that’s about all they manage.
‘Luv’n Touch’ and ‘Recipe Is Romance’ even seem to veer into easy listening territory, which isn’t a crime in itself, but these examples don’t do it for me.  The former sounds like it would be a suitable theme song for some winsome romantic comedy, with floaty vocals from Popovic, though at least there’s a satisfying burst of energy late on, with guitar soloing and backing vocals rubbing up against each other.‘Recipe Is Romance’ is similarly too sweet to be wholesome, with jazzy guitar commentary, syrupy horns, and what sounds like a multi-tracked vocal by Popovic – this last a trick that’s adopted on a few tracks, and typifies the air of over-polished production in evidence.
‘Power Over Me’ has a bit more oomph, even if it’s still in the shiny soul zone.  Flares of horns add a bit of heat, there’s some edge in the guitar solo again, and a catchy chorus is delivered with conviction. ‘Queen Of The Pack’ also packs a bit of a punch, with a couple of biting wah-wah solos, horns pumping, and some rat-a-tat vocal delivery, notwithstanding more of that multi-tracking.  And ‘Strong Taste’ is entertaining, with a brisk, tripping shuffle of a rhythm, and Popovic getting sassy with her vocal.  The “dooh-do-do-do-dooh” backing vocals contribute to a lively jitterbugging feel, but it still feels like higher gears should have been explored.
‘Deep Down’ gets closer to the grooves of Like It On Top, riding a simple bass line and with a straightforward, assertive vocal.  But it gets repetitive towards the end, and eventually outstays its welcome.  ‘Ride It’ is a similar curate’s egg, bobbling along pleasantly on another nifty groove, with some woozy horn remarks and stinging guitar licks, while Popovic proclaims that “We’re gonna ride it, ride it till the wheels fall off,” though without any real sense of exhilaration.
‘Flicker’N’Flame’ though, provides a belated moment of serious grit and drive, with some stomping drums and bass, and Popovic getting good and riled up vocally, insisting “Need you to work your nasty on me” and “Cover my mouth as I scream in ecstasy”.  Ooh er, missus. Then she lets rip with some squealing guitar to close, though it could do with being whacked higher up in the mix.
That kind of agitation and passion is exactly the kind of vibe Power could do with more of. Coming to the recording of this album on the back of treatment for breast cancer, Ana Popovic had a story to tell, but Power doesn’t feel like a deeply emotional album – not to this listener at least.  A bit more of Ana Popovic telling it like is, with less backing vocal sheen and more guitar torque, might have been more persuasive.
 
Power is out now and can be ordered here.

Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton - Death Wish Blues

Coming soon to a drive-in near you . . .
 

DEATH WISH BLUES

 
Don’t miss the thrilling tale of Sam and Jesse, a deadly duo of star-crossed rock’n’roll outlaws, hustling gigs from town to town.
 
They’re on the road . . .
They're wearing leather . . .
And they
PLAY GUITAR!
 
Or sump’n like that.  I mean, I'm not sure Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton would tell you Death Wish Blues is any kinda concept album.  But still - clad in danger signal yellow/black artwork, the whole Bonnie’n’Clyde schtick is there if you want it.

Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton - Natural Born Killers

Pic by Melrose Kaelan Barowski

I mean, who’s seducing who on the darkly throbbing opener ‘Deathwish’?  Backed by a slithering riff, Fish jabs out a lyric about a woman advancing on a guy standing in the shadows at a party, sticking his hand on her shoulder, and feeling his breath on her neck as he leans in for a “kiss like a death wish," inspiring some hectic guitar soloing.  And is this the same twosome that head off down the highway on ‘Riders’, grifting a rock’n’roll living with (so to speak) one-night stands from coast to coast?  Here they're propelled by some funky, squelchy keyboards, prodding bass and six-string stings, while the chorus adds raunch that's underlined by a warped, buzzsaw guitar break.
These are troubled characters though, our hero declaring on ‘Trauma’ that because of her he has “fever in my dreams” but “it’s never gonna stop me loving you”, over a shuffling rhythm from Aaron Johnston on drums, edgy, spaced out guitar notes and a twitching riff.  Then that trauma erupts into a squall of guitar over a Zep-like bridge, as the track heads towards an agonised conclusion.  In response, Fish delivers the very Fish-like love song ‘No Apology’, opening with vulnerable, aching vocals, insisting that “I can’t be your enemy and your everything,” but that “It’s you, you that I want,” and eventually launching into soulful vocal territory on a tune that wouldn’t have been out of place on Chills And Fever.
But there’s helpless heat for each other too, as on 'Flooded Love', on which they recall “We knew the levee was gonna break, so we did it again for old time’s sake”.  It's all rumbling bass, snapping drums and low-slung ‘Peter Gunn’ riffing as Dayton and Fish go at it together on vocals, the flood a metaphor as “Feeling reckless, we both explode”.  The tension rises until the dam busts open musically and the bridge comes tumbling out in a maelstrom of guitar, before they pound their way to another, er, climax.  It’s love and hate o’course, as they taunt each other on the rattling rockabilly of ‘Lover On The Side’ that “You ain’t my woman,” and “You damn sure ain’t my man”.  It’s a conversational duet, full of prickly guitar culminating in an itchy’n’scratchy solo and a bridge in which the pair of ‘em get, shall we say, a bit overheated.  Meanwhile ‘RIppin’ And Runnin’’ builds slowly through an acoustic blues picking intro, booming kick drum and pulsing bass, with Fish breathily demanding “Come on baby, why don’t you do something for me?”  We’re talking steamy provocation over grimy guitar and quirky keyboard vibrations, clambering its way to a barbed-wire guitar solo.
Yessir, these are, like the song says, ‘Dangerous People’.  “Trust me,” Fish drawls over junkyard percussion, “a crook knows another crook”, en route to a big, catchy chorus proclaiming “We’re dangerous, don’t play with us, unless you wanna get busted”.  And if that trails off a bit inconclusively, it’s only to make way for the high-octane party animal of ‘Supadupabad’, a two-minute rollercoaster ride of a familiar-sounding juddering riff laced with needling guitar and squiggling keys in the background, while Dayton makes chuckling, basso profundo conversation about “drinking Courvoisier from a crystal cup”.
There’s other good stuff along the way that maybe doesn't fit the imaginary film noir script, like ‘Down In The Mud’, which opens with a lurching chorus before diverting into the pulsating funkiness of its verses, with distorted spoken interventions from Dayton and some bristling guitar breaks.  And there’s ‘Settle For Less’, a pithy “no half measures” commentary with tick-tock percussion and a needling vocal from Fish, added to an explosive rocking chorus and some wiry guitar work.
Finally, there’s what one might consider the epilogue of ‘You Know My Heart’, a ballad that’s firmly in the Fishy waters of ‘Go Home’ and its ilk, a duet with Stonesy strummin’an’pickin’ and a sensitive harmonised chorus.  There’s a key change as it swells romantically towards its end, with Fish adding some trademark soulful vocal remarks over squealing but restrained guitar.

Death Wish Blues is a deceptive album.  You could call it an exercise in garage band alt.blues, or some such.  But with the assistance of producer Jon Spencer there are a lot of twists and turns packed in here – in fact there’s a lot packed into each of these 12 short’n’sharp songs, with the scribbling, doodling keys throwing frequent stabs of funk into the mix.  When you get down to it Death Wish Blues is 21st century rock’n’roll, with Jesse Dayton cast as a leather-clad Link Wray rebel - and hey, they really should work 'Rumble' into their live set - and Samantha Fish as his cigar-box toting femme fatale.  It’s full of personality, which suits Fish, who has often cleaved to character-based songs, and here plays sassy, troubled bad girl types with considerable relish.
I had some doubts about this project, after taking in a rather underwhelming live show by Fish and Dayton last month.  But the album works.  It’s fresh and it’s fun, and invested with some neat story-telling.  Go get some popcorn, and enjoy the ride.
 
Death Wish Blues is released by Rounder Records on 19 May, and can be ordered here.

Jim Kirkpatrick - Dead Man Walking

Patience is a virtue, which is its own reward, so the saying goes.  But in the case of Jim Kirkpatrick’s new album Dead Man Walking, if you stick with it to the third track, ‘Razor’s Edge’, you’re rewarded with a doozy of a tune.  Opening with big ringing chords and piercing lead licks, it’s a moody mid-tempo animal that bursts into an epic chorus, replete with soaring backing vocals courtesy of Kirkpatrick himself, and is stacked with bouts of his excellent guitar soloing, full of trilling tones and changes of pace.
Not that the opening ‘Promised Land’ and the following title track are by any means poor songs.  The former is a classy little vignette, a part a cappella bluesy spiritual, and ‘Dead Man Walking’

Hope you hear that train a comin', Jim!

Pic by Jonathan Johnson

itself is a western-tinged affair redolent of ‘Bad Company’, say, that gets properly going when it crunches into the urgently voiced chorus, before a howling solo provides lift-off.  But our Jim is still getting warmed up here, for the eight cracking tunes that follow.
Whaddya get for your dough then?  Well, there’s some tough rocking with the Thunder-like ‘Life On The Run’ and the mountainous ‘Road Of Bones’ for starters.  ‘Life On The Run’ is a winner on the strength of its guttural, stuttering riff alone, but the melodic chorus, surging bridge and stiletto-like guitar break seal the deal.  Meanwhile ‘Road Of Bones’ is gutsy and atmospheric, built around some rocky mountain way-ish chords, with another splendid display of backing vocal prowess from Mr K, and a cracking, quick-quick-slow-quick-quick solo to get you working out on your imaginary fretboard.  Oh yeah, and ‘Union Train’ really delivers on the rootsy-rock promise of the title track; an American Civil War tale with fiddle from Clare ‘Fluff’ Smith mixed in with a gritty stop-start riff, it grows in power and really rocks.
‘Heaven Above’ and ‘Hold On’ are both good-time rockers, the former dirty and twitchy, with horns thrown into the fray, a grabber of a chorus, and Leon Cave going big on the skins to plough the road for another crunking Kirkpatrick solo, and the latter in a more swinging vein, with a gritty, Bad Co-like riff.
But Jim Kirkpatrick has more clubs in his bag than straight ahead rocking, as damn fine at that as he is.  So there’s more imaginative range on display in the melodic epic ‘The Journey Home’, with its twinkling opening and initially reflective vocals, building through ripples of guitar and dappled keyboards from Jem Davis till it breaks out like the sun emerging from behind the clouds to deliver an aspirational chorus.  And the closing track is an excellent take on Rory Gallagher’s ‘I Fall Apart’ that's absolutely a worthy homage to the Irish master.  With a yearning opening and prickling guitar, Kirkpatrick does a bang-up job on Rory’s clever vocal phrasing, and there’s even an air of ‘Stairway To Heaven’ as it unfolds, with strings swelling to add to the drama as the Jim fella really uncorks his guitar for the final act.
In Dead Man Walking and its 2020 predecessor Ballad Of A Prodigal Son Jim Kirkpatrick has produced a brace of albums that place him in the crème de la crème of British blues-rock.  The guy really should be given more attention than he already gets from his work elsewhere.  So get out there on the road with these two albums, Jimmy boy, and get the acclaim that you’re due!
 
Dead Man Walking is out now, and available here.

Quickies - Bison Hip, Under-Volt, The BluesBones, and Tony Holiday

Here's the run down on four different musical angles from the recently-released pile, in the latest Quickies round-up.

Bison Hip – Older Stronger Better
 
Glasgow band Bison Hip are frank about the fact that they are four-fifths comprised of 50-somethings.  In fact, as their album title Older Stronger Better suggests, they reckon their experience is an asset.  And you know what?  They may have a point, because this doesn’t sound like the strained efforts of a bunch of neverwozzers.
Take ‘The One That Got Away’ for example, a loping blues-meets-AOR affair with a hint of

The youthful, colourful, ever-smiling Bison Hip

Foreigner about it.  It’s got a strong, catchy chorus, and they put vocals and harmonies to the fore, to good effect.  Okay, so singer Paul Sloway doesn’t have Lou Gramm’s voice, but he’s no bum either, and does a good job with what he’s got, demonstrating good phrasing throughout and giving life to some smart lyrics.
It wouldn’t surprise me if these guys were fans of FM, as several songs, like ‘Mercy’ and ‘Symptomatic’ for example, mine a similar seam of melodic rock.  The former shows off their ability to produce something structurally interesting, with a snappy guitar and drums intro, some less-is-more vocals and drum passages, changes of pace, and both Graeme Carswell on bass and Steven Radzironik on organ making the most of chances to shine.  The latter is more of a glossy slowie, with those vocal harmonies just one aspect of an impressive vocal arrangement.
They find some funk on ‘Doghouse’, with a nagging vocal line over stop-time backing, and a varied arrangement that includes a snazzy guitar break from John Gilmour Smith and good rhythmic emphasis from Malcolm Button on drums, and some horns even enter the fray towards the end, jostling for attention with Carswell’s funky bass.  But ‘This Old City’ is even better, a bluesy ballad that’s like the romantic flip side to Maggie Bell’s ‘No Mean City’ theme to the TV show Taggart.  There’s some ‘Parisienne’-style guitar work from Smith over washes of mellow organ to go with the atmospheric lyric, and Radzironik adds a delicate piano solo for good measure.
The second half of the album feels less strong, though that’s partly a matter of personal preference as they lean towards Hall & Oates blue-eyed soul on the likes of ‘Stronger’ and ‘Older’ – well done, and well suited to Sloway’s voice, but a bit middle-of-the-road for my tastes.
‘In Love With Life Again’ brings things to a tasteful conclusion though, a Deacon Blue-ish slice of contemplation built on gentle guitar strumming, patient piano chords, effective imagery and another strong chorus.
Older Stronger Better is a satisfying, well put together outing by a band who know how to write and arrange a good tune.  I could do with them frightening the horses a bit more times, but on the whole Bison Hip do more than enough to give greybeards a good name.
 
Older Stronger Better is out now on Bad Monkey Records, and can be ordered here.
 
 
Under-Volt – Let’s Just Go
 
This ain’t blues Jack, not by a long chalk.  But if you wanna indulge in some heads down, no nonsense, guitar’n’drums rifferama, Edinburgh duo Under-Volt may be just the job.
Opener ‘Over-ride’ lets loose with supercharged riffing from guitarist Jed Potts, shifting and splintering over cacophonous drumming from his buddy Vini Bonnar.  And if Potts is scarcely

Under-Volt - The Force is with them

some Hetfield-like grunter and growler of a vocalist, he still manages to penetrate the clamour, with some assistance behind the mic from Bonnar too.
They really hit their stride on ‘Depths Of Sky’, with its buzzing intro like an approaching plague of locusts.  A grinding, repetitive riff generates tension, given a couple of twists and turns to keep you guessing, and ultimately the thing picks up pace like some snarling, ravenous escapee from Jurassic Park.
Title track ‘Let’s Just Go’ is a breakneck tumble down a mountainside, slowing momentarily before taking off again, propelled by helter-skelter drums. There’s a shadowy, creeping section, and then it claws its way back out of the crypt to close.  The following ‘Kerosene’ is one of the best moments though, its tense verses of stretched out notes giving way to a looser chorus, accompanied by a warped, ringing riff, culminating in a passage akin to Quasimodo leaping around clanging the bells of Notre Dame.
Despite its title, ‘Skincrawler’ feels more, er, sophisticated, with bright chords and some spangly guitar picking that remind me (not for the first time) of late period Rush.  A bit.  Maybe.  Whatever – ‘In Spite Of’ sports some jerk’n’tumble guitar accompaniment to a teasingly repetitive melody, plus a cave-crawling middle section and some machine guitar riffing as a finale.  And the closing ‘Den Of Thieves’ goes in for some Sabbath-like churning, with Potts (or is it Bonnar?) dropping his voice into graveyard tones for the opening verse.  There are harmonies enlivening the “You don’t know if it’s truth or lies” chorus, and Potts makes with some bristling, high-tension riffage before a final acceleration to the line.
Let’s Just Go isn’t just a slab of thud-and-blunder, hammer-and-anvil noise.  It’s smarter than that, and if its ten tracks don’t all quite reach the same level of intrigue, Potts and Bonnar still manage to create a compelling maelstrom most of the time.
 
Let’s Just Go is out now on Wasted State Records, and can be ordered here.
 
 
The BluesBones – Unchained
 
Dutch band The BluesBones have their moments on Unchained, but in an ideal world they’d manage a better strike rate from the nine tracks on offer.
They start off solidly with ‘Chain Gang’, its solid groove contrasting bruising guitarchords with

The BluesBones break out

some rainfall piano, while singer Nico De Cock does some decent story telling in a groaning vocal.  ‘Time To Learn’ takes a straightforward blues and spices it up with an itchy guitar line from Stef Paglia and a rumbling, propulsive bass line from Geert Boeckx to go with some surging organ and occasionally offbeat drums.  There’s some good weeping slide guitar from Paglia too, and it’s a real highlight despite the distraction of a duff spoken-word section.
‘Talking To The Lord’ is a briskly rocking outing, with skipping drums from Jens Roelandt contributing to a bubbling groove, enhanced by a bright, frothy organ break from Edwin Risbourg.  And the buoyant ‘The Road Ahead’ has a chugging, toe-tapping groove, decorated by a neat descending turnaround and a fuzzy guitar riff.
On the other hand though, ‘The Tale Of Big Tim Brady’ is a woozy, rather corny take on a Stagger Lee-type barroom narrative that lacks any kind of edge.  Meanwhile songs like ‘Changes’ and the plangent ballad ‘I Cry’ don't feel much at home, although a nifty guitar solo on the former and some weeping slide on the latter providing interesting moments.  Much as I like variety, Unchained suggests that The BluesBones would benefit from a bit more stylistic focus.
 
Unchained is out now on Naked Records.
 
 
Tony Holiday - Motel Mississippi
 
Well, this is nice.  Too nice, really.  Motel Mississippi kicks off promisingly enough with the rolling groove of ‘Rob And Steal’, folding in hints of North Mississippi hill country blues – appropriately enough, given that it was recorded in the Dickinson brothers’ Zebra Ranch studio in that very

Tony Holiday wonders where his banjo went

Pic by Jamie Harmon

territory – and with some neat, understated guitar flourishes of guitar for seasoning.  But as the album progresses too manytracks feel like easy-going strolls in the park, lacking in real traction.
By way of example, ‘She’s So Cold’ eases into play, but while it acquires some strut and swagger led by a fuzzy guitar break, that kind of cockiness feels alien to Holiday as a singer.  His voice is never less than pleasant, but at the same time it's rarely demanding of attention.
The arrangements are similarly short on oomph and focus at times, as on ‘Get By’ fr’instance, a laid back amble with the odd hop, skip and jump, some tootling harp from Holiday and tasteful guitar filigrees from Dave Gross.  Which is all appealing enough, but as it slowly dwindles away, it feels like an under-developed sketch.  ‘Just As Gone’ is brisker, and features some nimble harp playing, but comes and goes in two and a half minutes without ever seeming to hit top gear.
There are good grooves throughout, as on the Jimmy Reed-ish ‘Trouble’, and ‘You Know Who I Am’ with its pleasing bass line from Terrence Grayson, but gripping ain’t a word that springs to mind much.  They try something different on the closing ‘Yazoo River’, a two-harp instrumental on which Holiday duels with Jake Friel to a quasi-Zydeco rhythm, but here too things could do with a bit more zip, a bit more sense of a sweaty dance floor.
There’s plenty good musicianship on Motel Mississippi, but Tony Holiday and co need to give their material more personality – and Holiday himself needs to up the ante vocally.
 
Motel Mississippi is out now on Forty Below Records.

Gimme 5 - Elles Bailey turns the spotlight on the music and people that give her chills and thrills

She’s a multiple UK Blues Award winner, a multiple UK Americana Award winner, hit the bullseye with her 2022 album Shining In The Half-Light, recently completed a highly successful UK tour, and has her own weekly show on Planet Rock Radio.  But Elles Bailey has still found the time to play the Gimme 5 game with Blues Enthused, telling us about the music and people that float her boat.  Take it away, Elles!
 
Gimme 5 songs, old or new, that have been on your radar recently. 
 
‘Broken Horses’ by Brandi Carlile:  “Taken from her last record, I love how this song rocks. Its
been great being able to give this track some love on my Planet Rock Show. I am a huge Brandi fan, not just her incredible writing and incomparable voice but she is a huge champion of up and coming artists and she’s always celebrating someone else. What a woman.”
 

Elles Bailey goes all Mona Lisa smile

Pic by Rob Blackham

‘Nightflyer’ by Allison Russell: “I think Allison’s last record is a masterpiece. I had the absolute joy of sharing the stage with her at the Uk Americana Awards. She’s an incredibly generous artist who lifts up all around her.”
 
‘Speed Dial’ by Alice Armstrong:  “What a debut single! I’ve been a fan of Alice’s for about 4 years in her various projects but It is so great to finally hear what she’s got to say.”
 
‘Find Yourself’ by Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real:  “I can’t get enough of this song, I am totally obsessed by it. I am really looking forward to sharing the stage with them at Black Deer Fest!”
 

‘Long Road Ahead’ by Delaney & Bonnie:  “This has been spinning a lot over the last few months. So much so that we have recorded a cover of it. I look forward to sharing it soon.”
 
 
Gimme 5 artists or bands who have had a big influence on your work. 
 
Mavis Staples:  “Mavis is all heart, soul & feel - her delivery is like no one else’s. You feel every word she sings and being in her audience is like being taken to church.” 
 
Bonnie Raitt:  “The trailblazer. I remember listening to Bonnie’s Dig in Deep record a lot whilst

Bonnie Raitt ready to blaze some trails

Pic by Marina Chavez

making Wildfire. She’s an artist I look up to, and aspire to have a career like. It’s a long game, but she’s played hard and shone like a light to inspire artists like myself.” 
 
Creedence Clearwater Revival:  “I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have CCR in it. My dad always played old records of theirs and I’m super proud of our version of ‘Long As I Can See the Light’ on the Shining in the Half Light Deluxe Edition. An honour to take on this Classic Creedence Song. 
 
Fleetwood Mac/ Stevie Nicks:  “Stevie Nicks is one of the most Iconic women of the 20th Century . There is no denying that I love her, her music, her fashion sense. Again another trailblazer.”
 
The Civil Wars:  “This was the act that introduced me to the modern Americana Scene. I remember hearing 'Barton Hollow' in 2012 and it was a game changer. That song inspired ‘Wildfire’, ‘Waiting Game’, ‘Medicine Man’ and so much more Elles Bailey!”

The entirely average looking Ryan Gosling

Gimme 5 guests you’d love to invite to your ideal long lunch. 
 
Jennifer Lawrence and Taylor Swift:  “Cuz I reckon they would be so much fun to have dinner with. Can we go out dancing after too?”
 
Ryan Gosling:  “So I can just sit and stare. (Shhh don’t tell my hubby!)”
 
Mavis and Bonnie:  “So we can discuss our future collab!!”
 
Just one track – pick one of your tracks that you’d share with a new listener to introduce your music.
 
“I’m going for ‘Spinning Stopped’, from the Shining In The Half-Light Deluxe Edition. I think this song is really beautiful and sums up exactly what I wanted to say. It's my intimate reflections of becoming a mother in the crazy beautiful yet totally messed up world during a pandemic. Recorded live it also shows how incredible my band are, Yes we can rock out at the best of times but this shows us in a different light, subtle and sensitive!"

Check out Elles Bailey's summer dates below.