PLUNGER

Welcome to the prog trance ambient rock cèilidh …

Plunger have always wondered at how iTunes (sorry, showing our age) ‘Apple Music’ comes up with their ‘genre’ allocation, after notable oddities like Greenslade as ‘Pop’, Derek Trucks Band as Electronica/Dance and Neal Schon as ‘New Age’…! 

That latter tag is the one they’ve applied to Powers Of Observation, the second instrumental album from fiddle maestro Chris Murphy under his Seven Crows alter ego. Now maybe it’s just us, but ‘New Age’ kind of conjures whale-song, finger-cymbals and Tibetan singing bowls, the kind of thing they put on in the background for your local yoga class… which this resolutely is not!

Having seen Chris do his solo loop-supported shows several times now, it’s no surprise he’s gone full-Mike Oldfield and performs everything you hear on the album - unlike Mike though it’s almost all the one instrument! He conjures a surprising range of sounds and tones from his five-string electric fiddle: celtic melodies and bagpipe-like drones might not be unexpected, but the earthy bass, woodwindesque lead lines, pizzicato-generated sequencer-mimicing bleeps, tweets and twiddles, and rich synth-style washes all come courtesy of an array of guitar FX-pedals. While his trusty stomp-box provides much of the ‘beats’ involved, there are also what sound like raps with the back of his bow to add crisper ‘snare’ effects in some of the tracks.

Most of the songs take a leisurely approach (possibly an artefact of their slow-build looping origins) with only five of the fourteen clocking under five minutes - one of which, Woke Up Singing, most closely resembles Chris’ other, rootsier oeuvre, with a llght upbeat bass-led bounce I was convinced his vocals were about to burst in!

Many of the tracks have a filmic quality, evoking expansive vistas: from the cloud-wreathed northern mountains of Boreal, the ethereal celtic afterglow of Amanda On The Bed, and the spring-forest-after-rain calm of Waltz, to the shimmering caravanserai desertscape of Talk Story, the oriental exotica of 1958 Hong Kong or the indian spicings of the closing pair, Mortal Moon and Narrow Margin with their sarangi-like lead melodies. 

And while there’s naturally a certain consistency of overall tenor across the album, the moods change from contemplative to urgent, wistful to threatening, romantic to (almost) rocking and stylistically Plunger’s (maybe not to be trusted) ears picked up undercurrents of everything from Vangelis to Górecki, Afro Celt Sound System to  Tangerine Dream, and Steve Hackett to Hawkwind, as well as the more obvious folk-roots elements.

Excellent stuff, and ideal for your car, your chill-out room, your nature documentary or Oscar-winning film soundtrack. And I guess at a pinch you could use it for a mindfulness class or Pilates session down at the community centre too…

Powers Of Observation is out now and is available to stream/download here: https://sevencrowsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/powers-of-observation 

There is nothing wrong with your device’s screen …

… do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. 

If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. And do, every single guitar solo.

We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. Though not any flatter, Or fatter. But we digress..

We can change the focus to a soft blur (to be fair it’s probably already a blur, going by our usual photographic standards), or hideously over-sharpen it to crystal clarity. And beyond. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. 

We repeat: There is nothing wrong with your electronic device. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... 

The UK Blues Awards Livestream.

A world where reason and logic no longer prevail. Where up is down and white is black. Where the people who run the nominations, the polling, the counting of the votes and the presentation of the awards are the people who win the awards. 

An echo chamber where the silence is deafening, as the devotees, the faithful acolytes, greet each new old announcement with ever more enthusiastic adulation, as the juggernaut ecstasies in the repeated, age-old, changeless mantras handed down over the generations.

Is it just a fever dream or frightening nightmarish reality? Is it the recurrence of an ancient horror or a vision of a future too terrible to tell?

Only you can decide…

Ronseal Road, do exactly what it says on the tin …

ROSWELL, I meant Roswell Road.

Rebel Joy, the debut album from Americana duo Roswell Road (Jasmine Watkiss and Zoë Wren), fizzes with an ebullient effervescence; a wired, wave-your-arms-in-the-air ecstatic energy drives the opener Holy Mountain and pops up throughout, as in the beepy-poppy synth-rich Back Row, and the wall-of-sound layered multi-vox second half to the light singer/songwritery Let Myself Be Still.

Weirdo At The Party (self-deprecation, obvs, not punching down) opens with filigree picking, less obvious chord progressions and major/minor shifts for a hint of Nursery Crymesque bucolicism, before blossoming via OMDish drums and synth to a swirling dance/trance finale, while Arabella ambles into view dressed in a mando-and-acoustic Faces-meets-Marshal Tucker Band disguise before R&B beats herald another Spectorish lighters in the air anthem (but with hints of banjo and a rare, blink and you’ll miss it, guitar solo!) And there’s another brief burst of pizzicato electric noodling in Out Of The Dark’s (aptly) darker, minor key elegiac pop.

So far, so ‘joyous’... what of rebellion? There’s plenty of agitpop too: not least in Island Citizen, where Crosbyish spacious acoustic chords and bittersweet harmonies transform into a pro-small boats rave banger with added clap-along gospel choir; in Bolder, an appropriately chunky-knit-and-cider shanty, telling the tale - in proper ballad narrative style - of Greenpeace’s anti-trawling marine conservation action of dumping large limestone boulders (get it? Boom-boom!) in the English Channel - with some fine fiery fiddle work to boot; and in the anti-corporate/anti-capitalist/anti-needless consumption hymn of Can’t Take My Soul (the track that impressed Plunger when we heard them perform at Maverick last year), that closes (after a touch of Journey Of The Sorcerer, and more than a touch of The Chain) in a RATM-meets-Roedean defiant, but polite, non-conformist chant.

The album closes with what is probably the most recognisably ‘Americana-y’ track of the ten, the small town paean (or plaint?) of Postcards where the vocal timbres, instrumentation and rhythm all combine for an effective wistful backwoods vibe.

The five years writing and recording Rebel Joy (produced by The Dunwells) were obviously well-spent, as this is an impressive, stimulating (and, yes, joyous and rebellious) debut. 

Rebel Joy was released on 13th March, and is available to stream or buy here: https://roswellroadmusic.bandcamp.com/album/rebel-joy

As someone once said “Are you not entertained…”

Industry figures are concerned that lack of support for the entertainment sector will have serious ramifications for the economy further down the line and are demanding that government take action now. Plunger's Arts Correspondent Preet Enshusmoi spoke to figures from these vital cultural institutions to hear their case.

“This is still a vibrant live art form, but who knows how much longer that can continue?” said Archie Rice, a leading figure in the music hall world, “Venues are closing as people can’t afford the 2/6 ticket costs and beer and gin prices have gone through the roof. It doesn’t help that newer media such as wireless are catching on, encouraging audiences to stay at home rather than come out. But I’m sure that with sufficient subsidies this decline can be reversed.”

“We understand that tastes change,” added Mr Boosey, a partner in one of the major publishers of popular scores such as Come Into The Garden Maud, “but the printed sheet music business generates a great deal of money and useful employment for the nation. Without assistance from the government, we shall see the numbers of front parlours with pianos decreasing exponentially, which will kill this valuable community resource stone dead!”

“Admittedly younger people don’t have the same interests these days, but once we lose these places they’ll never come back,” Thomas Fluddie, Yeoman of His Majesty's Bears added. “Gentrification and redevelopment will change the local areas; local authorities will build tenements and tanneries on the sites and that’ll it for bear-baiting and cock-fighting. I don’t think people truly realise the benefits of live entertainment until it’s gone.”

Evenin’ all, it’s a funny old game, life, isn’t it, eh?

You must have seen countless police dramas over the years, from The Bill to The Sweeney to Jack Frost - even from the likes of me! And there’s always at least one episode about battered spouses, probably more.

You’ll recall the form, bruised lady, maybe in a sling, bandaged even; at the front desk, in an interview room with a fag and a cuppa, or even (if things are bad enough) a hospital bed. She’ll be recounting the terrible things her other half has done to her: tales of manipulation, emotional blackmail and financial dominance, enough to make you weep. And there’s always a concerned, probably young, maybe female, constable who’s burning with keenness to bring the culprit to heel, while a cynical sergeant (older, and most likely a bloke) cautions discretion and not to get too involved.

And the rum thing is of course, despite the catalogue of hurt, injury, control-freakery and violence, just as the sergeant predicted the complaint gets dropped, and all’s apparently lovey dovey again. And all because he says he loves her really; and he can’t live without her; and he’s going to change; and everything will be different next year; and here’s a tiny shiny token of love to make up for it all… bish bash bosh, run titles, end theme and close.

Inquiry demanded into ‘foreign’ bribes in country …

… music scene. Over 70,000 signatures (that’s more than double the readership of Twangs ’n’ Thangs magazine) have been added to a petition that calls for a probe into rumours of financial incentives from ‘outside’ powers intended to buy influence and power dishonestly.

“We’ve all seen the effects of this activity,” said ‘Dead’ Avey, self-appointed spokesperson for the campaign, “Suspiciously unexpected results of popular votes, the same moneyed faces turning under different genre names but still pouring out the same old line… all the indicators that cash has changed hands somewhere.” 

After the latest election result in Blackpool on Friday night, ‘Dead’ railed against media complicity in the affair, “I blame the press, they harp on and on about these people, they feature them far beyond what is proportionate to their status, did you know that they have had more magazine covers than they have albums? How is that representative?” It is believed that Mr Avey’s own outfit, Orange Gobshites, have never themselves received a cover shot feature. “And now we see the effect this blanket coverage has had, with the general public now believing these people are ‘one of them’ when they are totally antipathetic to their best interests.”

Budget sends shockwaves through blues world …

Poring over the fine detail in Rachel Reeves announcement yesterday, blues community leaders have expressed dismay at the impact several measures will have on the health of the scene. “While there are things we welcome in the latest budget, overall it is likely it will have a chilling effect on the UK blues industry. Yes, rises in the minimum wage are long overdue: most of the musicians within UK blues are getting by on minimum pay, so three cheers for that. However, the benefit of that may be offset by the introduction of ‘overnight stay’ charges by local mayors; the cost of a room in a Premier Inn, Travelodge or Mrs Miggins’ B&B already eats into the tiny profit margins of most UK tours as it is, so it’s likely in future the all-you-can-eat inclusive full-English breakfast option will be off the table,” a spokesperson said this morning. “We welcome the end of the two-child benefit cap though: as musicians are notoriously incapable of controlling their natural urges or arranging effective contraception, this will cheer up many of our members.”

It’s not only the impact on the performing artiste that needs to be considered though, “Certainly much of the impact of yesterday’s policy changes will be felt by the audience for UK blues: the retention of the triple-lock for pensions is of course to be welcomed, but increases to taxes on savings and dividends , and the freeze on personal income thresholds, will hurt the pockets of 99% of UK blues crowds. More worryingly, the removal of luxury BMWs, Audis and Lexi from the Motability scheme will make driving to the venue less pleasurable (and status-boosting) for our rural members while the 50% increase in the bus fare cap still remains, and this has proved a known drag on turnout since it came in. It doesn't help either that the £150 environmental levy on energy bills has been removed, at least when fuel was extortionate the old and infirm were eager to get out of the house and into a venue someone else had to pay to heat, which will no longer be the case.”

Swaggering, blue-collar rust-belt anthems of New … 

... Malden? Newport Pagnell? Newton Aycliffe?

Imagine (if you will) a world where Bruce Springsteen grew up in a drab, small town in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Then imagine what his hymns to New Jersey’s main streets, drug stores, first loves and industrial decline might sound like.

There you have the general picture of the new album from The Dreaming Spires, Normal Town.

A brave suggestion on Plunger’s part, you might say, but there’s a thread of Bruciness in many of the tracks (to our ears at least) particularly the first six of the twelve. Big production (they’re not afraid of a bit of reverb these lads, or indeed a lot. And then maybe a bit more on top...) Some rather Springsteen-y anthemic chord progressions and pacings, and even when less obviously so. lyrical touches like “let the sirens wail…, give me that rock and roll” could be the Boss without too much of a stretch. 

The thread of small town Britishness is a resolutely antithetical lack of Brucey bombast or grandiositude: led by a Robert Wyattesque fragile vox that aches, quavers, cracks and at times sounds close to tears (a common result of living in a small town) the instrumentation is rich and varied but shuns grandstanding or flash; and includes left-field items like congas, xylophone, school upright piano, timpani, and sequencers. As well as the spirit of Our Bruce there are snatches of (in no particular order) Lou Reed, Faces, New Order, The Band, Neil Young, Steelers Wheel and even Peter Hammill. Sometime in the same song. So it’s probably not ‘Americana’ as you know it, Jim.

And it’s all rather lovely, frankly, The reverb and use of synths and multi-tracking lend a hallucinatory air to the small town atmosphere of dissatisfaction (with the lack of change, the unwanted changes, the longing to leave or return and the impossibility of both) that blurs the edges of what in other hands could be polemical mithering; while the stylistic variety piques the ear - not many bands would match the frankly proggy complexity of These Days Will End (possibly our favourite track) with the bleak New Wave pulse of Stolen Car (the most home town-y number for those of us who came of age in a 'normal town' late 70/early 80s).

Normal Town is very much out of the ordinary, and all the better for it.

Normal Town is released on 7th November on Clubhouse Records

The album release show is at The Water Rats, Kings Cross, London 6th November

LOU REED STAR DONKEY SCANDAL SHOCK !!! 

Nothing like a bit of the old click-bait to pull the punters in… but seeing as you’re here now, may I direct your attention to the new album Songs Of The Donkey Shed, from John Halsey?

Before you say “Who?” no, not them, but Halsey (a.k.a. The Admiral) has drummed on recordings by other greats, such as Lou Reed (not all click-bait is lies), Joan Armatrading, Roy Harper and Roger Chapman, and toured with Joe Cocker. More importantly, he was a member of the British titans who bestrode the musical world, nay, changed it forever: you know, the ones whose name ended in ’… T.L.E.S.’? 

Yes, The Rutles, of course.

John (a.a.k.a. Barry Wom) has joined with Phil Jackson (keys & vox) and Ken Thornton (guitars & vox) to produce an album that is as English as chips and curry sauce, the White Cliffs of Richard or the sound-of-willow-on-district-nurses-cycling-to-evensong. The word ‘Quirky’ would be doing an awful lot of heavy lifting to describe SOtDS - off-the-wall, nostalgic, unhinged, heartfelt, hallucinatory, witty, accomplished, absurd… you get the idea. Fifteen (count ‘em, fifteen!) songs, mostly covers of numbers you might know but don’t know where you’ve heard them (plus two originals, one from Phil and one from Ken), that certainly carry a large portion of Rutles-related DNA in their renditions. 

The opener Music, Music, Music (or Put Another Nickel In) embodies the anarchic spirit in which they are approached: SFX of in-studio noises off (doors closing, tape decks being switched on [Duuurrr, it's a jukebox, innit? 'Nickelodeon', geddit? Ed.]) lead to a slow loping take on the Teresa Brewer classic, with some lovely slide guitar and a laddish choir singing in the background, while foregrounded Uncle Ernie’s less salubrious gallic cousin lasciviously growls the lead vocal through a Gitanes smoker’s catarrh; meanwhile edge-of-hearing seductive girly ejaculations in French (from Mme Charlotte, Mlle Gavrochee, Alex Craimant and Elaine Halsey) gradually descend from ‘C’est si bon!’ to ‘Jacques Cousteau’ and ‘Quiche Lorraine’! Plus there’s more excellent slide and a fine upright saloon piano break to boot.

That sets the tone musically, temporally, and seriouslyly… that is, in terms of how seriously they approach things. Max Bygraves’ Out Of Town opens and closes to the sound of groaning OAPs (it’s OK, Plunger are members of the over-60s rugby club themselves now) and has the feel of a warbling 30s crooner cakewalk in the Bonzo's mould, and there’s an even more vamped-up vibe to Marty Robbins’ A White Sports Coat, the slightly Noel Coward enunciation and bvs conjuring images of striped blazers, toothbrush moustaches and straw boaters (and allowing equal room for both fluid jazzy guitar and glockenspiel!) Marty gets a second outing in Stairway Of Love, rendered a cappella with only handclap accompaniment, the multi-layered doo-wop backing vocals lending a bit of a Kenny Everett air! 

There’s a touch of pre-war music hall in Don’t Jump Off The Roof Dad (who can forget that Tommy Cooper classic) with its malevolent Melvin Hayes-alike vocal and children’s choir; and that spirit is found too in Phil’s Don’t Knock The Pudding (a proper cockernee Christmas song, perfect for the halls, or round the ol’ Joanna in the parlour, “gather round, gather round, you too Auntie Vi…”); in the highly Flanagan & Allenesque Why Worry; and, not surprisingly, in Billy Cotton’s When A Black Sheep Meets A White Sheep (niche!) compete with occasional “Baaa” interjections.

Pickin’ A Chicken is a somewhat bizarre ‘Channel 5 children’s TV theme tune performed by the Plattlinger Isarspatzen oompah band’-style barbecue ballad, while That’s Amore manages to shed any lingering images of Dean Martin thanks to a ‘inna club stylee’ lead vocal, the ‘bunch of blokes trying to do falsetto’ call and response bvs, and a touch of comic asides (‘What’s a tarantella?’’I think it’s a spider?’)

Walk On By (no, not that one, the Leroy van Dyke country number) gets a fairly straight take (bar the Viv Stanshall lead vox and Mike Sammes singers bvs) with fine twangsome guitar and rattling drum and bass underpinning; Junior Choice stalwart Nelly The Elephant too is pretty down-the-line take, a fairground calliope organ/drum/tambo march with circus crowd SFX, as is the last dance at the 50s high school hop of Ken’s Last Call, (notwithstanding the pub closing time SFX... appropriate for former pub landlord John!) Straightest of all is Gracie Fields’ Sally, the fragile vulnerable vocal, piano and synth strings make for a genuinely touching version (helped by the accompanying YouTube video of John rootling through a box of old photos and memorabilia…)

But it’d be a disservice (and probably a breach of the Trades Descriptions Act) to leave on that note, so we’ve saved Autumn Leaves, the much-loved jazz standard, covered by everyone from Doris Day to Miles Davis, Sinatra, and the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps of Ohio no less, until last: an accomplished, polished and emotional performance (proof, if it were needed, of the trio’s undoubted musical chops) with cracking saxophone additions from Daniel Mays, is effectively playing in the background of an increasingly bizarre comedy sketch involving plumbing, deceased birdlife (not a parrot, though) and a surprise 'bonus item'. Say no more.

Plunger are pretty stumped to guess who the target demographic for this is (anyone who likes a laugh, at least) but we suspect the chaps don’t really care about that TBH. We’ll leave the last word to them, “It's been 4 years in the making and we are very proud of what has become Songs Of The Donkey Shed. At one point we were considering calling it 'The Why Album' because we constantly wondered why we had made it. There was no big plan, we just got carried away. Which actually helped to make this album a very natural and purely fun experience all round. We dedicate this album to Neil Innes. Our beautiful friend always said John should have his own album... and here it is, Neil, we’re sure you would love it. It's packed with tunes, it's silly and for just the sake of having some fun. We hope it brings you all some much needed joy!”

It does.

“When I use a word, It means just what I choose …”

You might expect verbal chicanery from a five-foot fantasy humanoid egg, but possibly not from an Atlanta rock band, but Rare Birds ATL go all Humpty Dumpty on us in their latest single Jacksonville Bowie.

Before you start conjuring weird mental images of The Thin White Duke in a trucker’s cap and cut-offs, the band have explained that the title is taken from the work-in-progress nickname for the riff, and to be fair the rising chordal progression does sound appropriately Ronsony, topped with a Rossington/Collins bend leading into the verse, so you can't really argue with that… 

What follows is a ballsy two-chord two-step lope, a muscular Gimme Three Steps reduced by one, that’s a perfect vehicle for Brandon Neal’s lung-busting, paint-stripping Rodgersesque vox. There’s a fiery fat-and-fuzzy toned solo from Andrew Cylar (more Ronson than Rossington in terms of length, sadly) that highlights the Skynyrd feel of that bend-hook by doubling it up at the end!

There’s another sneaky Dumptyism lyrically, but again before you either smirk knowingly (for those born before 1980) or clutch your pearls (for those born after) when Brandon sings “I only wanna see you naked” he is in fact referring to the naked soul at the core of his beloved’s personality, behind the layers of artifice, pretence, self-protection and dissimulation, NOT what you think. 

Probably… 

…maybe that too?

Anyhoo, whichever, Jacksonville Bowie is a corking addition to the build-your-own-album collection of singles they have released (and will be releasing) this year!

“We’re not in Marlboro country anymore, Toto … “

A sublimely listenable collection of highly personal songs from Steady Habits drawing inspiration from across the Americana spectrum: from the mellow last-dance-at-the-prom in American Grafitti as delivered by James Taylor of Edge Of Changing; through elements of Greenwich Village coffee shop folk revival plus banjo in the title track Deviate; to 50s Poetry In Motion bobbysox-pop (with Wes Montgomery harmony guitar lines and brushed drums) in album closer Novelty. 

West Coast vibes abound in the single Archer Street (reviewed here: https://tmblr.co/Zc96bki1ukn9Sm00) and the Western-tinged melancholy of Half (the nasal twang and dragging lead vocal evoking a cowboy Morrissey) and the snare-led air-punching saloon anthem of Mess Of It All, with shout-it-to-the-rafter vocals and proper fuzzed-up guitar break.

The pairing of Garden State and Stay (the one bleeds into the other in a truly 70s style) highlights thei band’s professed alt-rock credentials (which though present elsewhere are less obvious): the former, a small town farewell roadtrip epic (and the longest track) builds via moody beginnings, goosebump-raising harmonies, swirling pedal steel to a stirring rocky coda that screams for a wild, overdriven Neil Youngesque closing wig-out; the latter conjures Nirvana-in-Nudie-suits grungy country (grungetry?) punctuated by They Might Be Giants-like tutti punches.

The playing, instrumentation (including lush pedal steel throughout, baritone guitar and some raw Dylan-ish harp) and arrangements reek of echt ‘Americanness’ (it helps to have a bona fide Yankee in ex-New Englander Sean Duggan) that will have you feeling like you’re chugging draft with the boys in the dive bar or dance hall of your wildest Last Picture Show dreams… but then life is never that simple if you don’t fit the butch beer-swilling mould, as the lyrics tell - unfolding a picture of otherness, alienation, ostracism, escape and self-discovery based on Sean’s own experiences of queerness in a less than tolerant environment.

So much so that it almost feels petty (no pun intended) to rave about the music, but hey, we’re British, and we’re Plunger, that’s what we do! And it really is a bunch of tunes worth raving about.

Deviate is out now, here: https://steadyhabitsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/deviate-lp and the usual suspects. 

Personnel:

Sean Duggan - Acoustic guitar, Vocals, Harmonica

Cathy Ife - Vocals, Bass

Joe Coombs - Electric Guitar

Jamie Dawson - Drums

Jack Kendrew on Electric Guitar / Baritone Guitar

Jonathan Shacklock on Pedal Steel Guitar

Toria Wooff on Background Vocals

Jim Hollands on Banjo

Britain’s rivers - sacred places, liminal spaces …

… tranquil oases. The watercourses of Britain run deep with connections to folklore, tradition and art: from being home to celtic deities and the portal to the world of the dead, to inspiring poets and painters, from Tennyson to Turner, Monet to Hughes. 

Kyson Point (the united forces of Kelly & David Booth) are the latest so inspired, taking their local River Deben* as their muse for Dark River, the first single from their debut album Underwater Sky. The song addresses the river as a friend, companion, confidante, provider; a restless yet steady presence and connection to both landscape and history.

Musically Dark River is full of fluvial qualities: sparkling, finger-picked acoustic and cymbal splashes evoke a sun-spangled stream, the simple, lilting melody delivered softly and breathily by Kelly, and two-voice unison passages and exchanges in the chorus continue the feeling of small scale, babbling flow.

David joins the lead vocal as the current swells and grows, and before long the folky vibe begins to meander, expanding and becoming wide and smooth in polished Crosby & Nash-like harmonies and chords, fuller arrangements with added high-capoed guitar (or perhaps mandolin) and a more powerfully flowing lead line from Kelly sweeping us downstream to the closing fade.

An impressive taster for the upcoming album, and (despite the West Coast sheen) brimming over with the quintessential ‘genius loci’ quality of the best of English folk.

Dark River will be released on 26th September 2025, followed by the full album on 7th November.

Written & produced by Kelly & David Booth

Kelly - voice, synth David - voice, drums/percussion, guitars, double bass Recorded & mixed by David at The Recording Booth, Suffolk, UK Mastered by Joe Vegna in Stockholm, Sweden

“Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of …

… another bloody tube strike, more than likely.” Samuel Johnson may have been less sanguine about what the capital has to offer if he discovered a week of industrial action on the underground was scheduled to begin on the night of his brand new dictionary launch in Central London! That was the prospect facing Forty Elephant Gang’s single launch for Dark Shadows (reviewed here: https://tmblr.co/Zc96bkh-a8jo8i00 ) but thankfully the start of the stoppage (as it were) was pushed back so the show at the Green Note escaped by the skin of its teeth. (Given the band are no strangers to weaving contemporary London life into classic Americana tunes perhaps there’s the basis of a song there?)

Our last two sightings of Forty Elephant Gang in the flesh were at Maverick Festival, so it was appropriate that Ella Spencer (daughter of Maverick founder Paul Spencer) should be their opening act here. Ella defies any nepo-baby stereotypes with a sure hand for songwriting as evidenced in originals such as the brooding backwoods Warning Signs; the brittle brightness of break-up anthem Scotty’s Tyres; Wishing Well; and Howling Wolf. Switching from acoustic to banjo, a couple of covers (Townes van Zandt’s Loretta and the tradition Fare Thee Well a.k.a. Dink's Song) demonstrated the power of her vocal - an echt, passionate, vulnerable-but-with-a-core-of-steel delivery that evokes the kind of woman that greets unexpected callers in Westerns with flour on her apron and a Winchester 73 in her hands. Lovely stuff!

Now that FEG are a five piece (Andrew White on lead vocals and guitar, Sean Mannion on mandolin and backing vocals, James Bachmann on guitar and backing vocals, Martin Moore on drums, and Frazor Twyman on bass) fitting them all onto the pocket handkerchief stage at the Green Note was a bit of a squeeze, even with Martin’s kick drum replaced by a suitcase, and there were moments where Frazor’s headstock was close enough to those of us sat on the stage-side stools to do his tuning for him.

The hour-long set opened with three numbers typifying the blend of styles the band employ: the ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ swampy stomp of Songs Of Praise included three-part field-holler harmonies and tricksy time signature switches; the north London domesticity anthem Miss You leant more towards Faces-cum-Marmalade with some great guitar-and-mando action; while Evergreen veered straight into full on late-Mac 70s polish.

There was a touch of Steelers Wheel-does-skiffle to the rattling crowd-pleaser Hollow Man Blues (Tired Of Living) where Sean’s chiming mandolin was again to the fore, and more than a hint of Squeeze to Joan Of Arc, while Please Say Goodbye and Hard Times again showed the breadth of influences: the former an Old Timey Country waltz (with some lovely pedal-steel-mimicking guitar), the latter a complex folky number with a soft-mallet Madchesteresque beat.

The new single Dark Shadows naturally got a run out, the West Coast sophistication as evident live as on record, as well as a couple of other new numbers (or maybe just ones we don’t recognise!) amongst the ‘old favourites’ in The Island and an aptly off-kilter, unsettled Fever Dreams.

Ella joined the band (no mean feat on that stage) for a heartfelt saloon waltz telling of temptation resisted (the title of which escaped us…) and then a couple of covers that nailed their Americana colours to the mast pretty firmly: a gleeful take on Sheryl Crow’s All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun, and a highly proficient and convincing rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain (including a spirited ‘Formula 1’ second-half canter!) The final track of the night was another big crowd favourite, the N’awlins-tinged Hands Out Your Pockets closing out one of those nights the capital still has to offer that would make Dr Johnson proud.

It’s raining, dark and I’ve never driven in my life …

… but I’m still itching to roll down a sun-drenched highway with the wind in my hair and the radio on…

It may basically be autumn now bar the shouting, but Archer Street, the new single from UK Indie-Americana band Steady Habits, is a shades-on, top-down, freeway-cruising anthem par excellence.

A striding Pettyesque two-step, bright and upbeat musically (if not so cheery lyrically!) rattling along on a heartbeat bass line and tight snare, big-strummed acoustic and twangsome electric, with a lithe Dawes-cum-Don McLean boyish lead vocal, and understated harmonies in the chorus, while a half-speed midbreak affords a brief outing for some haunting electric lead work.

Despite drawing its inspiration from a less than happy memory of an early tour of the States, Archer Street is a pretty joyous evocation of big skies, muscle cars and long straight roads to stir the blood and lift the spirits. Even for lifelong pedestrians like Plunger.

Archer Street is released on 29th August on all the usual streamers, and the album from which it comes (out on 19th September) can be pre-ordered from their Bandcamp page, here: https://steadyhabitsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/deviate-lp

Live Dates:

19th September - ALBUM LAUNCH - The Bullingdon, Oxford, United Kingdom

6th November, Water Rats, London, United Kingdom

(supporting the Dreaming Spires)

18th November, The Victoria, Birmingham, United Kngdom

19th November, New Adelphi, Hull, United Kingdom

20th November, Chelmsford, United Kingdom

21st November, 33 Oldham St, Manchester, United Kingdom

23rd November, Audio, Glasgow, Scotland 

Steady Habits are: 

Sean Duggan - Acoustic guitar, Vocals, Harmonica

Cathy Ife - Vocals, Bass

Joe Coombs - Electric Guitar

Every artist knows, you have to have darkness … 

to show the light … Whether it’s Caravaggio and his chiaroscuro, or Bob Ross - who provided the headline quote - it’s all about light an shade, innit? A bit of variety (it is the spice of life after all) keeps the palate - or palette - from getting jaded, no less so for music than for art or gastronomy.

Following up their heavy HEAVY offering of Worrykill [reviewed here: https://tmblr.co/Zc96bkhqH4V44W00], Rare Birds ATL’s latest release Shiny Side is an appropriately sparkling, light-and-bubbly musical palate cleanser. The opening chiming acoustic and warm, lower register Les Paul accents evoke a touch of the Maggie Mays, and the Rod & The Faces vibe continues in the ensuing louche swagger that follows - complete with cracking period-appropriate electric piano to the fore and powerful gravel-and-molasses vocals.

In keeping with the brighter breezier feel, the lads aren’t hanging about: with a jerky, urgent, soully chorus or two out of the way, a brief low-key (no pun intended) run-out for the Fender Rhodes, and a final showcase for those impressive pipes in a passionate melismatic cadenza, we’re done.

Rattlingly good, get-up-and-swing-those-flares, honest-to-goodness upbeat positivity in a world darker than we might wish it to be… and no tanks involved.

Welcome to the Hotel Caledonian… erm, Road?

… or possibly Hotel Dalston Kingsland, or Hackney Central… Plunger wouldn’t normally think of East London as a fertile ground for the production of Americana but it is. Forty Elephant Gang, the now-five piece local band, release their latest single Dark Shadows on 5th September, and it’s another impressive effort. Inspired by The Odyssey and Cold Mountain, it explores themes of separation, longing, struggle and homecoming.

An easy-going (kinda Hey, Hey, My, My-meets-Knockin'-On-Heaven’s-Door) shamble propelled by a Madchester-on-prairie shuffle, with a crystalline falling progression mandolin, meaty bass underpinning and fat, twangsome, electric guitar ornamentation, topped with a taut transatlantic drawl vocal salted with a dash of London grit.

Vocal harmonies in the chorus add a splash of proper Eaglesy West Coast sheen, and there’s even room for a spotlight moment each for some dextrous mando and (decorously) fuzzed-up guitar. As Dark Shadows moves towards the closing fade, the introduction of wordless harmony vocals and a brief spot of to-you-to-me interplay between mandolin and guitar offers the chance of a Hotel California extended wig out… (not taken obviously, as we’re British, don’cher know).

Self-recorded and produced, Dark Shadows is a highly accomplished cinematic anthem, fit for a Hollywood road trip or sun-drenched festival field, from an outfit that is clearly increasing in confidence and aplomb (as well as band members) since Plunger reviewed their first album. And, notwithstanding their roots, there's a lot more of the spirit of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe than the Mildmay line in their blood…

Dark Shadows will be released on 5th September [FEG Bandcamp site here: https://fortyelephantgang.bandcamp.com]

and the launch party for the single is at The Green Note on the same day [Tickets available here: https://www.greennote.co.uk/production/forty-elephant-gang/]

Ain’t no such thing as too much of a good thing …

After a stonking Maverick Festival weekend there were quite a few opportunities to relive some of the magic as many of the artists involved played various venues across London in the following week. Plunger plumped for the excellent double header of Chris Murphy and Casey Neill & Chet Lyster at the Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon.

This year’s festival was our first encounter with Casey Neill & Chet Lyster, and we were very impressed with their expansive airy epic vibe: with Casey on big chiming acoustic and a rather Stipey, tense, emotive vocal, and Chet adding atmospheric muted, reverbed-up whammy-bar accents on Fender Jaguar and tight harmonies as required, there were hints of PNW alt-rock (Americanirvana? AR.E.M.icana? Grungetry?) behind the bleak rural majesty of songs like the anthemic Sending Up Flares or Savages, the C&N-feel of Uncharted Terrain, Casey’s ‘night-driving’ song Dark & Down or the fire-jumper-inspired Radio Montana.

Plunger’s ageing ears were surprised to hear a song announced as “Death List”… which turned out in fact to be the fragile hymn to the resilience of love Deathless (oops); name-confusions also arose in Casey’s intro to the small-town, hometown first-love of Idyll: “Where I’m from we’d say EYE-dill but I’ve been schooled that here you say I-dill; I guess to you we must look like a bunch of EYE-diots”. Other excellent numbers included The Ones You Ride With, saluting the benefits of ‘found family’ over blood ties (which, after initial disdain has become his father’s favourite!), and the out-and-out heavier riffer How Beautiful Am I, written to celebrate the feisty, eventful life of Marianne Faithfull, as appropriately driven, spiky, and unexpected as its subject. Probably Plunger’s highlight of Maverick, we bought their discography (or at least what was available at The Company Store!)

Chris Murphy was no stranger to Plunger at this year’s festival (turns out we shared an AirB&B with him a couple of years back) but he is always worth seeing, and we did on several occasions across the weekend. Not only an accomplished, vibrant fiddle-player, his deployment of a looping pedal allows him to be his own accompaniment, adding ‘rhythm’, ‘bass’, and harmonies, and of course allowing him to sing too! Chris began his set (as he had at Maverick) with his three-part tribute to Irish folk music: an atmospheric, eerie plaint to open, segueing into a lively jig then a bustling reel (or it could have been lively reel and bustling jig, not really Plunger’s area of expertise!)

Things got a lot less obviously ‘fiddly’ with “a song for a marginalised, oppressed community in my home town of Los Angeles…” the Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers-style I Never Learned To Drive with full-throated audience participation, and another witty number, Early Grave, that put us in mind of the master of dry humour, Mark Harrison, both lyrically and in its N’awlins flavour. Darker moods emerged in the next pairing: Into The Past, billed as a touch of Gypsy Jazz, to our ears had a brooding western badlands feel, perhaps more in keeping with its subject the now-defunct Yukon-Seattle railroad; while the relentless On The Road Again groove and keening fluid fiddle of Worn Thin’s nod to Chicago blues spoke of simmering anger and ‘patience worn thin’.

More American history-cum-geography underpinned Wolves Of Laredo, eulogising the vanishing wolves and indeed ways and traditions of the American wilderness, where Chris played his fiddle as a mandolin; and a fine Hawaiian volcano-inspired reggae song (no, really), When The Lava Does Flow: the looped bass line to this was fantastic, if there’d been more room we’d all have been up and skanking. The set closed with what is Chris’ unofficial theme song, Halfway Around The World: an insanely catchy number (just typing the name I have both the fiddle ‘hook’ and chorus sparking up again in my head) that featured more enthusiastic singalong-ing from the crowd,

A hallmark of Chris’ festival performances has his crowd-wandering showmanship: here, where to be fair he could almost have reached out and touched the far wall without moving, there was little of that (and being ‘corded’ rather than wireless it could have got messy if there had been!) However not to be confined to just the stage area, the final song of the night was an encore traditional duet (of Seven Tunes?) with Casey, sat together in the back of the crowd space.