It
took a few plays for The Hat to get a handle on this debut album from
Bristol-based Husky Tones.
In
their pre-publicity, the band cite all the usual famous blues
influences that have affected their work and motivation and yet
essentially this is a very modern blues album, nods to the familiar
names being mostly under the surface of this original work.
Unusually,
the singer is also the drummer (there are some pretty spectacular
precedents for this, of course) and as a result most tracks swing
hard with Victoria Bourne's sassy voice and drumming up front and
centre. This is some voice, a real commanding band leader's voice, I
was reminded of the legendary Ottilie Patterson who sang with Chris
Barber for many years....giving everyone 'a hot time in the old town
tonight'. Nobody is going to argue about who is in charge.
And
there lies the key to this album. It cries out for a live version.
The tracks are longish - there are only two at under four and a half
minutes - and you can see exactly how they would storm a live
audience, especially with accomplished guitarist Chris Harper and
harp man Liam Ward stepping forward and giving tremendous input on
most of the numbers. The album is full of busy-busy full-on band
tracks, harp and guitar working in fine unison as on the punchy and
curiously three-part 'I Dare You'. However, one slow number in
particular, the excellent 'It's a Bitter Love with You Every Time'
harks back to more traditional blues sentiment, giving both
Victoria's voice and Liam's splendid wistful harp a lot of room to
open up and develop. All the lyrics and arrangements on here are
original and were written by Victoria Bourne and Chris Harper, with
one instrumental track 'Daybreak' allowing guitarist Harper to
superbly flash his Peter Green influences with a fine slow and moody
solo piece.
Although
the biogs of the members of this band show that they have put in a
lot of musical miles before this, doing their time and learning their
chops the hard way, this is a debut album that has been self-penned,
self-financed and recorded studio-live. It's fresh, vibrant and full
of attack. To capture the energy of a live performance in a studio is
always a tough call and they should be pretty pleased with the
outcome of their hard work. You should be sure to check them out live
as they go on the road after the album launch this month.
