The Boom Band - Taster CD
Oh, super! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is the beautifully formed and delightfully packaged promo Cd from The Boom Band landing at Hat Mansions. The word 'super' gets bandied about rather too much, as in super group – and we all remember where that got Bruce, Moore and Baker – but this band is really something special. When Van Morrison (a man not known for his loquacity!) says this group is 'Great. They are on the money', you know you have to make time to stop and listen.
Formed last year, the band fronts up with four guitarists and keyboards – and you don't get many of line-ups like that for your money. Matt Taylor, Marcus Bonfanti, Mark Butcher. Jon Amor and Paddy Milner are all good friends and great singers and song-writers as well as being superb musicians. They also all happen to be dashing around working solo and with other bands as well. You know without asking, that the words ' mutual respect' are the crucial ingredient in this mix
I love the way they describe the genesis of the idea..”we thought we would all meet up, get drunk and have some fun” and then “we realised it worked, it was rather good”. This takes The Hat straight back to Laurel Canyon CA, when Dave Crosby would ring up Neil, Steven and Graham and they would all drop in, get drunk and have some fun.....and yes, that was pretty good too.
Appropriately, the first track on this mini EP, 'We Can Work Together' blasts straight in with five voices full on and you see immediately that they do indeed work together vocally, both as full harmony and the separate single gospel-like call refrains. It is a sign of their skill and maturity that, even though the talent is obvious, no-one gets to grandstand – and as Paddy says of his four guitarist friends 'they leave me space for my thing as well'. The great lyrics on the song are ambiguous enough to be both personal and deliver a wider hopeful call for resolution – 'you can change somehow'.
The second track 'Sweet Alberta' comes from another world. It has the same full voice harmonies and the same delicate guitar fills but you are taken off to the back porch where - with Paddy's keys beautifully and evocatively rattling and rolling along like some barrel house piano-man – the talk is of country friends, late hours, whisky and the heart within. A great atmospheric fondness pervades.
This a tremendous taster for things to come and the full Cd is scheduled for April 13th. It is smart, tight and a lot of fun. The enjoyment going on is palpable and it would be a hard heart who does not put this on their must-buy list for next month...
