I realise it’s probably not cool or hip to admit this but I’m actually quite a fan of the bands that sound like Led Zeppelin or Free, I love Zeppelin and I love Free, so Rival Sons, Greta Van Fleet, heck even Kingdom Come all get a big tick from me.
It’s very likely then that I’ll love Voices Unheard, the debut album from Jayler, a foursome of UK rockers that do seem to be strapped to a rocket. Tony and Debby have sung their praises at gigs and festivals all over the Midlands but this was the first time I really got to listen to them and there’s definitely something magical about them as a band.
The vocals, the grooves, the riffs. the overall vibe of the band just screams that golden period of the late 60’s to the later 70’s where the shirts were Paisley, the trousers drain pipe flares and rock stars were rock stars for better or worse (with hindsight a lot more worse). It’s no wonder they’re opening for Sammy Hagar and for Deep Purple this year as that’s exactly the sort of audience that will lap this up.
The thing I like about them as the record kicks off with the swaggering Down Below, is that they don’t feel like they’re trying to revive rock, this isn’t a push back against the ‘rock is dead’ argument, they’re just a load of guys who’ve got into their elders record collection and thought “that’s what I wanna play”, and play they do with the skill and confidence of a band with much longer in the business.
From their slide driven blues rocking on Riverboat Queen, the introspective balladry on Bittersweet, the soulful acoustics/organs on Hate To See It End and the choppy funk of Need Your Love, there’s a myriad of 70’s sounds on this record, but you do keep coming back to Zeppelin on Over The Mountain, Alectrona and the honking mouth harp of Lovemaker.
There’s a lot of talent from Jayler on their debut album and while here, James Bartholomew (vocal/guitar), Tyler Arrowsmith (guitar), Ricky Hodgkiss (bass/keys) and Ed Evans (drums) may be Voices Unheard, but it will not be that way for very long as Jayler pay homage to the likes of Zep without becoming a pastiche. 8/10
When Rivers Meet – Rhythm Rust & Static (Self Released)
Delayed due to vinyl manufacturing issues, husband and wife alt blues rockers When Rivers Meet, finally realises this new album Rhythm Rust & Static. In a response to the heavily produced previous effort and written when expecting their first child (born in March), Grace and Aaron Bond have taken a more introspective “raw and intimate” route with this one.
Dare I say returning to their debut album which featured fuzzy garage blues imbued with some instrumentation form the Country/Americana sound, the band say “in many ways Rhythm Rust & Static reminds us of the records we always loved growing up”, particularly debuts when the bands are at their least polished.
Going back to go forward can always be risky but this is the music where the band come from, the two members playing pretty much everything, independent in all ways through production and release, their voices joining in soulful union on groovers such as Caught In The Middle, the dreamy Horizon and the stomping My Time Is Done.
Theirs is a ragged and gritty, garage blues booms out of your speakers with distortion and fuzz, starting with The Tide Is Turning a track that builds with anticipation before getting loud and raucous, Fault Line bringing some Southern rocking while I’m Ready For You is drenched in attitude and atmosphere.
Rhythm Rust & Static, may jar some latter day band wagon jumpers but When Rivers Meet have always been this band, alt rock meets blue collar nostalgia with two brilliant musicians at the helm. 8/10
The Karma Effect – Cruel Intentions (Earache)
The third record is where things usually are male of break for a band, but with The Karma Effect, they’re on the heels of their last record Promised Land hitting the UK Top 20 album chart.
So brimming with confidence and overcoming a major overhaul in line up, these UK rockers return with their third studio release Cruel Intentions which is very much on the make side as soon as they first up their “modern vintage” rocking with Ride Or Die.
Theirs is a ragged and gritty, garage blues booms out of your speakers with distortion and fuzz, starting with The Tide Is Turning a track that builds with anticipation before getting loud and raucous, Fault Line bringing some Southern rocking while I’m Ready For You is drenched in attitude and atmosphere.
Rhythm Rust & Static, may jar some latter day band wagon jumpers but When Rivers Meet have always been this band, alt rock meets blue collar nostalgia with two brilliant musicians at the helm. 8/10
The Karma Effect – Cruel Intentions (Earache)
The third record is where things usually are male of break for a band, but with The Karma Effect, they’re on the heels of their last record Promised Land hitting the UK Top 20 album chart.
So brimming with confidence and overcoming a major overhaul in line up, these UK rockers return with their third studio release Cruel Intentions which is very much on the make side as soon as they first up their “modern vintage” rocking with Ride Or Die.
Inspired by The Stones, Aerosmith, The Black Crowes even The Faces especially in those rough but honeyed vocals of band leader Henry Gottelier, The Karma Effect blend the old ways with modern slickness ready for rock radio stations to snap up.
Henry Gottelier spearheaded the writing as always making this album more observational, keeping his emotions in check for a record that balances between fun and filthy, it’s at its heart a record about love, lust and rock n roll.
He shares guitar duties with Robbie Blake so the familiarity in the guitar playing is there but there’s fresh blood in the shape of keys man Tom Pitt, bassist Nate Keevil and drummer Alan Taylor, who brought a freshness to the recordings allowing these songs to flourish in their own way.
Dangerous Love and Raised On Rock N Roll, for instance, get the hips moving with some brass, organs and choppy guitars. All the songs here still gathered under that “modern vintage” tag but without some of the cloying sentimentality and a bit more danger to them.
Dangerous Love and Raised On Rock N Roll, for instance, get the hips moving with some brass, organs and choppy guitars. All the songs here still gathered under that “modern vintage” tag but without some of the cloying sentimentality and a bit more danger to them.
Even when they put the breaks on for tracks like Lady Bohemian, the country tones of Closet Thing To Crazy and One More For The Road, there’s still muscle behind what they do, as they feel honest rather than saccharine.
The Karma Effect may be feeling Cruel Intentions on this record but it’s not a teen drama, rather an adult rock record that defines the phrase “modern vintage”. 8/10
Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado – Live At Hotel Cecil (Provogue Records)
An eight piece Danish band whipping up a blues storm in the heart of Copenhagen? That’s what you get on Live At Hotel Cecil, the new record from the award winning Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado.
Recorded at Denmark’s Art Deco jazz club and play house in front of a sold out crowd who hang on every note played by this red hot band, this isn’t just a live record it’s an audio snapshot of band right at the apex of their talents, refined over years of performance and recording, these 17 tracks burst out of your listing device of choice with confidence, soul and swagger.
An intimate performance, but one where they can play with the muscle their music deserves, the jiving rhythm section setting the pace of the tracks, while the parping horn section become just as important as the stellar guitar playing, a track such as Heading For The Stars combining all three into some brass soaked Dire Straits harmonies.
Much of the performance comes from their latest record House Of Sticks while there’s a few from their earlier releases too, making it an audio journey through the stories of these veteran road dogs, delivered with a slickness theatre is befitting a band of their stature.
Be it the extended instrumental jams of All I Want see band leader, Risager only using his husky, soulful vocals for the first part before entering into a dual with co-axeman Joachim Svensmark. They dial into some smoky balladry on House Of Sticks, as Insomnia Boogie does what it says on the tin, and with the walking blues of Sin City and more you get plenty of bang for your buck with this record.
While it may not be a total reconstruction of that night in Copenhagen, if you dim the lights and close your eyes you’ll get damn close to how it feels to see Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado with Live At The Hotel Cecil. 8/10
Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado – Live At Hotel Cecil (Provogue Records)
An eight piece Danish band whipping up a blues storm in the heart of Copenhagen? That’s what you get on Live At Hotel Cecil, the new record from the award winning Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado.
Recorded at Denmark’s Art Deco jazz club and play house in front of a sold out crowd who hang on every note played by this red hot band, this isn’t just a live record it’s an audio snapshot of band right at the apex of their talents, refined over years of performance and recording, these 17 tracks burst out of your listing device of choice with confidence, soul and swagger.
An intimate performance, but one where they can play with the muscle their music deserves, the jiving rhythm section setting the pace of the tracks, while the parping horn section become just as important as the stellar guitar playing, a track such as Heading For The Stars combining all three into some brass soaked Dire Straits harmonies.
Much of the performance comes from their latest record House Of Sticks while there’s a few from their earlier releases too, making it an audio journey through the stories of these veteran road dogs, delivered with a slickness theatre is befitting a band of their stature.
Be it the extended instrumental jams of All I Want see band leader, Risager only using his husky, soulful vocals for the first part before entering into a dual with co-axeman Joachim Svensmark. They dial into some smoky balladry on House Of Sticks, as Insomnia Boogie does what it says on the tin, and with the walking blues of Sin City and more you get plenty of bang for your buck with this record.
While it may not be a total reconstruction of that night in Copenhagen, if you dim the lights and close your eyes you’ll get damn close to how it feels to see Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado with Live At The Hotel Cecil. 8/10
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