Reviews roundup – Slang vs. The No Refund Band vs. George Taylor vs. John Fairhurst vs. Little Band Of Sailors

Reviews roundup – Slang vs. The No Refund Band vs. George Taylor vs. John Fairhurst vs. Little Band Of Sailors

SLANG
Devastation In The Void
Cleopatra

Japanese hard core time.  And I’m not talking the type of thing you buy out of a Tokyo vending machine in the dead of night.  No, this isn’t the good stuff, rather it’s the seventh album from the Japanese hardcore band, Slang, who’ve been shouting since way back in 1988.

It’s a mixture of American hardcore and it’s Japanese equivalent, and if you like the sound of an out of tune dentists drill fed through an amplifier straight into your skull, then you’re going to love this.  It’s not actually the kind of thing you can review properly, because it’s so love and hate. Me, I never progressed beyond D.R.I., so it’s a bit extreme for me.

However, the basement dweller in your life, who just won’t move out and get a job, and who dreams of being a games tester will probably revel in this, as they blast through tunes like ‘Scum’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Dystopia’.  It’s being released alongside their previous album “Glory Outshines Doom”, so there’s twice as much pain or pleasure to get through.

THE NO REFUND BAND
Current State Of Blue
independent

I enjoyed the debut album from the No Refund Band, which came out at the arse end of 2012.  They really are good at fusing blues, soul and funk.

As before, it’s mainly originals with a smattering of covers, and it’s a brave band that takes on ‘Bell Bottom Blues’ and ‘Mississippi Queen’ in one sitting.  But they nearly pull it off.  They’ve managed to keep their line up together, so Ricky Jackson, (lead vocals / lead guitarist), Rik Robertson (bass), Mike Crownover (rhythm / lead guitar), Anthony Terry (saxophone) and Jim Brady (trumpet) have had plenty time to learn each others peculiarities.

And they’ve gelled well on songs like ‘St. Louis Bound’, ‘I Gotta Play’ and the Gary Moore tune ‘Still Got The Blues’.  Another excellent offering from an excellent band.

GEORGE TAYLOR
Rain Or Shine
independent

Hello?  This is a good one, even if he does look like a banker, with a name to match.  It’s country music but done the good way.  Oh, yes.

It’s very old-fashioned, but in a country blues way.  You know, the sort of thing that Hank Williams wrote, before country shacked up with an orchestra and / or pop music.  It’s country blues from the wilderness with slide and lap steel guitars to the fore on fabulous tunes like ‘Railroad Song’, ‘Breakin’ in Boots’ and ‘Harvest Moon’.

It’s a timeless record that could have appeared any time in the last fifty years, shorn of artifice.  As such it’s one you should own and savour.

JOHN FAIRHURST
Saltwater
independent

Some of Her Majestys Great British Blues now, and it’s from Bristol based John Fairhurst, the only man to come out a winner with those nuisance calls that ask if you’ve had an accident in the last five years.  He did, and bought a guitar with the compensation.  And then it was “Taxi! take me to the Blues”.

With his excellent guitar playing and deep Wolf like vocals, it’s a real treat of an album for folk who like their blues a wee bit rough and rocky.  It helps that he had a production team who’ve served time with Prince and The Rolling Stones as well as the legend that is Jamiroquai, so it sounds great even before you realise how good the songs are.

The best for me were ‘More More More’ and ‘Time Goes By’ but you could stick the needle into groove and come up with a ten pounder.  Excellent.

LITTLE BAND OF SAILORS
Woman With A Suitcase
independent

Indie folk-prog, anyone?  Well, if that sounds like your cup of tea, then this band fronted by sculptor and performance artist Rachel Mason may be right up your street.

They claim to “blend folk, prog, goth, and heavy metal. Think Jefferson Airplane meets Black Sabbath”.  That of course is shite, but JA isn’t a million miles of the mark, albeit a plane with an indie rock edge.  Which may be a step too far for the few hippies still able to find their way to a record shop (ask your Dad).

It’s certainly interesting with an array of odd time changes and some weird vocals, bits of art rock and some downright weirdness.  You’d really have to have a listen to songs like ‘Rebel Angels’ and ‘Alien Suns’ before you made your mind up, but if drugged up dirges and words without meaning turn you on, then turn on to this.