Reviews roundup – Virgil & The Accelerators vs. White Widdow vs. Popa Chubby vs. Seres

Reviews roundup – Virgil & The Accelerators vs. White Widdow vs. Popa Chubby vs. Seres

VIRGIL & THE ACCELERATORS
Army Of Three
Mystic

Not that long ago I claimed that the single off this album ‘All Night Long’ had “the riff from ‘Over The Top’ by Motorhead and a production from Chris Tsangarides, one of the go to metal dudes from the eighties.”

So it comes as no surprise that the parent album sees them careering headlong into the world of rawk.  Now pay attention at the back, because I said rawk not rock.  Rock is a much abused word appropriated by indie chancers who struggle to know which way round to hold a guitar.  Rawk is, what those of us who remember the seventies and eighties, know to be big riffs, sturdy rhythms and manly vocals.

And that’s what you’re getting here as Virgil & The Accelerators shrug off their blues roots and head into the world of seventies guitar rawk.  There is plenty of swagger on offer here, with some great guitar work and a smattering of good to great songs.  The opening ‘Take Me Higher’ takes some time to get going but when they charge into ‘Blow To The Head’ you get a taste of what they could develop into.

It certainly sounds as though Virgil has been working on his vocals, as this is the best performance he’s turned in to date, and there is every indication that Virgil & The Accelerators have the potential to be a truly great rawk and roll band.

WHITE WIDDOW
Crossfire
AOR Heaven

The AORsters from the mythical continent of Australasia set the world of AOR alight with their 2011 album, “Serenade”, so with a bar set so high, expectations for this record were high.  However, since then they’ve been through the mill with their annus horribilis in 2013 seeing the death of drummer George Kristy and the resignation of original bass player Trent Wilson.

So how have the Millis brothers, Jules and Xavier coped with all this?  Very well, if this excellent release is anything to go by.  It’s another slice of hook filled, eighties styled melodic AOR, with oodles of keyboards and big harmony vocals.  Some of the songs are just magnificent, and are guaranteed to make melodic rock fans moist with pleasure.

Take a listen to ‘Just Another Night’, ‘Never Again’ or ‘Born To Be A Rebel’ and you’ll be taken back in the mists of time.  Although it’s not as instant as its predecessor, this is one that will keep on giving you love for quite some time.

POPA CHUBBY
I’m Feeling Lucky
Dixiefrog

Twenty five years of Popa Chubby!  Congratulations and jubilation.  And here he is with another very enjoyable set of blues into rock.

Now there’s nothing new here that’s going to shake you up, but the last few years have shown Popa to be one of the most reliable bluesters around.  And this is no exception, as across the ten tracks there’s no filler.  His band this time out are Chris Reddan on drums, Dave Keyes, keyboards and bass player Francesco Beccaro with special guest appearances from Dana Fuchs and Mike Zito(Royal Southern Brotherhood).

Things start off in fine fettle, with ‘Come To Me’, with a cracking guest vocal from the aforementioned Dana Fuchs, but you could drop your needle into any groove here, and not be disappointed.  Elsewhere, I really enjoyed his slow blues, ‘Too Much Information’, the Southern Rock, Doc Holliday styled grooves of ‘Rock On Bluesman’ and his cover of ‘Rollin’ n’ Tumblin’.

If you get yourself to the shops nice and early, there is a limited edition bonus CD with rare and early recordings by the artist (with the bands Noxcuse and Bloodclot, the New York poets Lobelle Joe and Brooklyn Hippity-Hoppers, Streets Docs.

SERES
Enigma Humano
independent

Prog rock from Venezuela!  We do get around.

And it’s really rather good.  Seres started life as an instrumental band about ten years back, but after acquiring their first vocalist, they released an EP.  But he left, they went back to being an instrumental band, released another EP, then persuaded guitarist Alex Rossi to rock the mic.

Since then they’ve been plugging away at their melodic prog sound, which is certainly good enough for prog fans to shake an ear at.  Granted, I’ve no idea what they’re singing about, as it’s all in Spanish, but isn’t prog meant to be about expanding musical horizons?  Man.

Tunewise,’Una Más’ and ‘Ese Instante’ grabbed me from the off, but it’s one that’s worth repeated plays.

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