The Texas Flood - 'Worth The Whiskey' (self released) 4.5/5

There is land to the west that is wild and lawless, where the men are tough and the liquor is harsh. And from these bad lands (near Swansea) come The Texas Flood. Part of the NWOATYWRB (New Wave Of Annoyingly Talented Young Welsh Rock Bands), TTF are a blues rocking power trio who take their cue from the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and this is (I believe) their second ep.

Now I first encountered this lot when they played on the same bill as Alien Stash Tin earlier in the year, and I was more than a little impressed that three young guys, barely into their third decade, not only had such a strong handle on classic blues rock, but also the fact they played like guys who had been blues rocking for decades. So I put in a order for their EP and at last its here.

Now there are four tracks on offer here. We kick off with Barking Like An Underdog, an excellent slice of get down and boogie blues rock that has echoes of Jason and The Scorchers about it. Then there's Holding My Own, a slick and subtle ode to masturbation that kicks along like Slug The Nightwatchman (remember them? - damn they were good). Living On The Edge is a glorious Georgia Sats like booze 'n' blues work out and closer Worth The Whiskey comes over like Stevie Ray jamming with Motortrain in a Texas redneck bar and not getting shot. All in all four great tracks.

As for the musicians. Well the core of the band is the superb rhythm section of Tom Williams and Ben Govier, two guys who know how to swing and know how to boogie; a tight unit that just locks down on the beat and keeps the music driving on in classic style. This allows the mercurial talent of singer / guitarist Tom Bradford to shine through - here is a guy who plays like George Thorogood and sings like Ronnie Van Zant. Add in the fact that these guys can write great songs full or infectious hooks and wonderful tongue in cheek imagery and you have in TTF a band that could well go places.

In short a great ep from a superb young band that show a truck load of promise, and is a must for southern boogie and blues rock fans everywhere. Yeeehaaaa South Wales Will Rise Again!!!

Excellent

For fans of... ZZ Top, Motortrain, Jason and the Scorchers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Georgia Satellites....

Lace And Whiskey - 'Running Out Of Time' (Self Released) 4/5

East London rockers Lace And Whiskey have been around since 2008, they play a sort of Americana influenced soft acoustic indie rock and roll, and this is their debut full length album.

Now I'll be honest here, when I got this in my inbox the other day and first played it through I didn't like it at all, but having lived with it for a few days and given it a second chance, I can say its growing on me rapidly. OK I ain't gonna start claiming this is the best release ever to cross my inbox, I will say it is not without a lot of merit.

Based around the slick and introspective guitar work of  Melissa Collett and the direct and sincere sounding vocals of Andy Hodgson, Lace and Whiskey have created a fairly engaging album, that brings to mind the likes of Frank Turner and New Model Army in terms of approach and attitude.

Highlights include the Frank Turner influenced Don't Ask Questions, the hard edged Confuse The Mind, the dark and disturbing Isolation and especially the spine tingling instrumental Night Of The Armada - a track that shows Melissa Colletts six string slinging ability in fine style.

All in all this is a good debut from a band that have a fairy unique approach and could go places.

Worth checking out

For fans of... Frank Turner, New Model Army, The Levellers, Duckfeet..... etc

John Taglieri - 'Lucky #9' (Leap Dog Music) 4/5

This is the ninth album from cult US country rocker John Taglieri, and what a little gem this six tracker is. Currently available as digital download only from all your normal online outlets, this mini album is a very sweet and very listenable selection of ear friendly soft rock tracks that blend aspects of Americana, country rock, rock and roll and folky singer songwriter sensibilities into one very engaging whole.

Cuts like the tender and plaintiff Dying Alive, the old school rock and roll work out of Losing Me and the catchy sub pop Make Me Believe as jump out from the speakers and give the listener a big friendly hug that leaves yours ears with a very warm and satisfied glow.

With a voice that has hints of Roy Orbison and a song writing style not unlike the great John Fogerty, Mr Taglieri, who played most of the instruments himself, has with Lucky #9 is one helluva pleasant record that should win him new fans and admirers worldwide and make his existing followers very happy indeed.

Very Good Indeed.

For fans of... John Fogerty, Steel Blue Rose, Grinderswitch, Creedance Clearwater Revival.

Trucker Diablo - 'The Devil Rhythm' (Ripple Music) 5/5

Ok, this lots are new to me. Apparently Trucker Diablo are out of Northern Ireland and are a four piece formed by some veterans of the local music scene; and recently they are having a bit of a purple patch. This, their debut album, has gotten its self a worldwide release through that home of all this old school and interesting, Ripple music, are getting airplay on five continents and early next year are out on the road with Black Stone Cherry.

Now listening through to this album its easy to see what all the excitement is all about. Trucker Diablo play good old no nonsense heads down boogie fueled damnation rock and roll. Imagine a truck load of Molly Hatchett and Black Oak Arkansas style southern boogie in a motorway horror smash with a cargo of Spider / Dedringer style NWOBHM and a van load of Black Stone Cherry type modern hard-rock sensibilities piling into the wreckage and you'll get the general idea. The end result has a certain Almighty vibe to it, and it's no surprise to find former Almighty front man Ricky Warwick turning up to add his voice to the track Juggernaut.

Gotta say I'm finding this one right up my musical alley. Tracks like the opener and current single Drink Beer, Destroy with its beer fueled blue collar slam boogie riffage and mob yell chorus; the Sweet Savage style truckers anthem Big Truck, the juke-joint sleaze of Dirty Love and the ZZ Top on Steroids drive and grind of When Angels Die: all thunder straight from the speakers like the devils own 18 wheeler and they give you a simple choice, get on and enjoy the ride - or end up as another lump of roadkill in their musical wake.

The performance and the production here can't be faulted - its smooth enough to be clear, balanced and 100% listenable, but still retains enough rawness and rough edges to keep its greasy rock sensibilities true and maintain the whole 'rock and roll is the devils music' feel.

This is one of the best truckin' rock and truckin' roll albums of recent years, and I'm not alone in that opinion, When they number the likes of Dee Snider (Twisted mutha truckin' Sister) and Joe Elliot (Def Leppard) amongst their admirers, you know you have summit special on your hands, and I've got high hopes that this may just be the album that puts old school hard rock and roll back in the public eye where it belongs.

Its truckin' great, buy it and love it forever.

For fans of... Grifter, The Almighty, Motortrain, Sweet Savage, Black Stone Cherry, Drivin' and Cryin'....

The Kix - 'The Kix (demo ep)' (Self Released) 5/5

Women in rock bands are nothing unusual these days, but all girl rock bands are still a fairly rare beast. This is a shame cos in the past we've seen outfits like Fanny, The Runaways, Girlschool, Rock Goddess, Vixen, Jezzabelle, L7 etc who have all proved that the so called 'fairer sex' can lay down just as much thunder as the fellas. Well now we have The Kix come along to add their names to the honour role of women who can rock with the very best of the blokes.

The Kix are based in Aberdare, South Wales, and play rock of the old school in the vein of Girlschool, Rock goddess etc. Now I can't help but notice some interesting parallels between these talented young ladies and the classic NWOBHM outfit Rock Goddess. They consist of two sisters on guitar and drums and a best friend who plays the bass, they are still in their late teens and early 20's and play an infectious brand of groove driven rock and metal (hell drummer Charlotte even looks a little like RG drummer Julie Turner did in the early 80's). All of this is fine with me, I loved Rock Goddess and always thought they should have been huge.

But don't think for one minute that these girls are a Rock Goddess clone outfit. There is a lot of good stuff going on this five track offering. the opener Look Alive cuts in with a riff that sounds a little like Orgasmatron era Motorhead, then has a couple of riffs that sounds a bit Groundhogsy. Louder Than Words is a glorious glam punk work out in the Runaways style, Out of The Blue has a hint of the Iron Maidens about it. Same Old Story is a stomping semi blues fueled rock-out track with a delicious break down section in the middle and Off My Back has the feel of a classic Suzi Quatro number. Not a duff track on offer here and the louder you play it the better it sounds.


Much praise is due here for the musicianship on show as well, vocalist / guitarist Sam Bolderson has the looks and voice of Joan Jett and the guitar playing ability of the late great Kelly Johnson, her sister Charlotte on the kit is duck arse tight and smacks the pig skin with a power that is inversionally proportionate to her size and underneath it all is the rock solid bass playing of Kate Marshall who must surely rank along side the aforementioned Ms Quatro and Enid Williams as proof that women can play as good as any man. Whats more, I've seen these girls live and and they can do it in concert as well as in the studio and to say I'm blown away by The Kix is an understatement.

In short - A fantastic demo from a band that should be bound for big things.

For fans of... Girlschool, AC/DC, Motorhead, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue etc...