The Blues Enthused Christmas Stocking, Part 2

Welcome back, fellow blues travellers, for some further festive treats!

Sam Fish - nice to see someone enjoying their work!

An album I was really looking forward to in the summer was Samantha Fish’s Wild Heart, which I reviewed in July.  Guided by producer Luther Dickinson, Sam drew inspiration from Hill Country Blues to explore some rootsy avenues, confirming that the girl can’t half sing.  But she still found some time to rock, as on the belting ‘Show Me’.

Sam’s pal and mentor Mike Zito provided another highlight with a terrific show at the Edinburgh Blues Club in November, accompanied by The Wheel.  This European jaunt coincided with the release of their stonkingly good new album Keep Coming Back.  If you haven’t got it yet then put that right asap.  Meantime, here they are performing the album closer, Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Bootleg'.

I still recall catching The Rising Souls supporting Kara Grainger back in May, and thinking that this ‘stripped back soul’ trio were on to something.  That initial impression was confirmed by the excellent songs on their 2014 mini-album, and eventually resulted in me writing a ‘Bluesbreaker’ feature on the band for the December issue of The Blues Magazine.  Here’s their video of ‘Yardbird’, the title track of their new album, which they’re releasing on February 6.

The Rising Souls - new album coming soon

Another bunch of newcomers were the Balkun Brothers, whose debut album ReDrova I reviewed in February after hearing a track on Paul Jones’ Radio 2 show.  The guitar-and-drums toting brothers from Connecticut subsequently released a second, self-titled album in the autumn, and toured Europe supporting Popa Chubby, though sadly not including any UK dates.  A review of the new album should appear in The Blues Magazine in the New Year – meantime you can check out this live rendition of Johnny Winter’s ‘Mean Town Blues’.

At the other end of the spectrum is veteran Louisiana bluesman Lil’ Jimmy Reed, who delivered a rollicking helping of vintage blues in his Edinburgh show in September.  Here’s Jimmy performing the classic ‘Big Boss Man’ (written by the original Jimmy Reed, of course), demonstrating that he’s the real deal.

A similarly great set was delivered by The Jensen Interceptors back in April, capturing the spirit of Chicago R&B in a manner well-deserving of the label “good rockin’ tonite”.  See what you make of this performance of ‘Whisky Headed Woman’.

Enjoy the rest of the festive break folks, and Blues Enthused will be back with you shortly!

Balkun Brothers - ReDrova

Listening to Paul Jones’ Radio 2 show a couple of weeks ago, I got an earful of something interesting enough to make me go in search of it online.  So here we have, hailing from that Blues heartland of, er, Connecticut, the Balkun Brothers.  Formed by brothers Steve Balkun (guitar/vocals) and Nick Balkun (drums/vocals), and now joined by Caleb Battersby on bass and vocals, they’ve previously released a few EPs, and apparently won a clutch of blues awards in the States.  But this is their debut album, and it’s well worth a listen.

Opener ‘Oh Yeah! (Last Jam)’ crashes in with a wall of guitar, as a prelude to a lurching,

The Balkun Brothers - they like hats

sub-Zeppelin riff, over which Steve Balkun (I assume) lays a vocal that’s more Selwyn Birchwood than Robert Plant, before they underpin a wailing guitar solo with a bass-heavy, drum-pounding foundation that vaguely recalls Sabbath of all people.  The following title track, contrastingly, is something of a Southern blues-rock affair.

So far, so okay, but it’s not what I was anticipating.  ‘Got My Boots On’, though, delivers the goods.  A gorgeously shuffling piece of delta blues, with slide guitar well to the fore, it steers proceedings in more of a North Mississippi Allstars direction, which is all to the good.  And there’s more of it to come.  If ‘Keep Me Warm’ lives up to its monicker, with a lazy, rolling groove, the wonderfully titled ‘Search For The Arachnid’ offers a simple but original blend of a breezy riff, pattering drums, and squealing slide interventions, plus – what is that? – a tuba solo?!

‘Bippidee Bop’ is slower, built around a stuttering riff and rhythm leading up to another outburst of slide guitar, while ‘Keep It Up’ freshens things up with some gypsy jazz leanings, and excellent bass from Battersby.  Ordinarily, I have to say, I run for cover at the first hint of Django Reinhardt, but as it progresses this takes on an appealing jump blues feel.

‘Sally’s Blues’ is a satisfying turn at a slow blues, with piano tinkling in the background, and featuring the best, most bluesy vocal, before Steve Balkun turns up the heat with a dynamic solo.  From there they slither and boogie down the Delta again, all the way to the closing ‘Going Home’, which evokes NMA in ‘Shake ‘Em On Down’ mode, interspersed with a bit of a Native American vibe, and a burst of motorbike revving, as evidenced on this brief promo video.

The Balkun Brothers website declares that they mix “traditional styles of delta and electric blues, with heavy modern rock and funk grooves”.  On this evidence, when they dial down the heavy modern rock, they’re a force to be reckoned with – and Steve Balkun could be a breath-of-fresh-air guitar hero.