ALBUM: The John Henrys - ‘Sweet As The Grain’

December 1, 2008 · Filed Under Releases, Review · 1 Comment 

Country Music frightens me. You know that scene in Terminator 2 where he walks into the bar, beats that guy up, melts his face on the kitchen hob and nicks his threads? Country music was playing in the background. Not to mention every brain-scarring psycho moment in Deliverance - remember the kid with the banjo? Exactly. Country music is the twangy veneer on nasty things.

Except The John Henrys don’t play up to my self-created stereotype. At all. The Canadian five-piece have about as much darkness to them as an over-enthusiastic children’s TV presenter, locked in Dr Smile’s House of Happy Pills.

The John Henrys play ‘Thought Yourself Lucky’ live:

Their 60’s shake-shuffle and hazy blues might not be enough for me to get over my fear and prejudice of all things country, but in amongst all that twanging I hear an album that smells like the first whiff of a fresh whiskey bottle, rather than the glum final dregs. The John Henrys are Good Time Boys, not Good Ol’ Boys, and foo to you if you can’t enjoy a bit of that.

‘Sweet As The Grain’ came out today on True North Records. For more info, check out their official website and their MySpace page.


Sweet As the Grain

9lb 2008, Audio CD, £13.99

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Live: The Sea @ The Dublin Castle - 21 November

November 24, 2008 · Filed Under Live, Review · Comment 

www.rufflesphotography.co.ukIn the 20 years I have known him, my mate Tom has never once said:

“So-and-so are playing the Dublin Castle - want to come along?”

“Yep, I will meet you there,” I reply, somewhat stunned.

The band in question is The Sea, playing at the Dublin Castle in Camden -  and Tom loves them. Their search engine-proof moniker means I walk blind into the venue, and was pleased to see nothing but a guitar amp and drumkit on stage. The Sea are just one man bashing pigskins, and his brother twisting strings on a Rickenbacker plugged into a scuzzy vox.

We later discover that not five minutes before they are due on stage, a fellow cornered the guitarist, Peter Chisolm in the toilet. “Give me coke, skinny indie kid,” he ordered. Upon finding that this skinny indie kid had none he proceed to punch him a few times in the face.

Which is why a dazed Peter Chisholm joins his brother, Alex, on stage. “This song goes out to the man who just gave me a black eye’” he syas, and lunges into a guitar frenzy. A hard-hitting bluesathon of riff rings out, and the room fills up. A lot of miserable old blokes shuffle around at the back, and optimistic teenage girls bounce around up front - always a sign of record company interest (or a paedophile ring).

It’s only 8:30pm, and The Sea are shamelessly riffing and drum filling away. If I’m being lazy, it is quite like early White Stripes, before Meg had that breakdown, and Jack turned into a humourless git that wrote wishy washy Bond themes.  They have calls of Dan Sartain, Robert Johnson, and Led Zeppelin’s ‘Moby Dick’. The set creates a warm feeling like sausage & mash might, but instead it is made up of guitar riff porn and killer drum fillers.

However, listening to their MySpace page the next day, I’m not feeling the same raw fuzzed-out feel I got from the live show. It feels all a bit indie-twee, and seems to be missing its critical edge. Someone put Albini to work on it, and the world shall see peace in our time.

For more noises from The Sea, go check out their MySpace page.

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Interview: Naughty Jack is tempted out of his castle of solitude.

November 17, 2008 · Filed Under Interviews · Comment 

Naughty Jack, aka Adam Morley, is reclusive character. Earlier this year, he popped his head out of his shell for a spot of promotion of his album, Good Times, and to do a few appearances on the festival circuit. In turn, this generated a maelstrom of interest and gig offers that were met with polite declines. Why? Because Naughty Jack chose instead to rewire his house and consider the next album. Music Towers caught up with him and quizzed him a bit.

So it if it isn’t too obvious, what is Good Times about?
“It’s about nostalgia, which is a feeling I really enjoy; when you get a connection to all the good things that have happened to you, or even not so good things. All those things are part of you, and it’s important to feel them. Music does that for me and helps me get clear my head of any cloudy, stressy, numbness that might be in my head from everyday life.

“The track ‘Good Times’ is about me and my friends sitting in the sunshine in our old age, after all the business of life has ceased to matter, looking back at our youth when we didn’t give a shit.”

There are numerous references to alcohol on the record - do you have something that you want to tell us?
“Good alcohol helps me to get in touch with what’s important in life. It’s not the alcohol that I’m referring to, it’s the urge to suck up life and make the most of it while you can.”

Good Times, are you sure you are qualified to be a blues singer?
“No. I’ve never claimed to be a bluesman. I’m coming from a different place in a lot of ways. If I was to go around trying to be a bluesman, it would be really embarrassing for all involved. I haven’t really got the blues, I’m really pretty happy. If something bad happens, I don’t tend to dwell on it. But I’ve loved blues since I was a boy, so the influence is bound to be there.”

Your album cover proudly displays your influences, citing Professor Longhair, Townes Van Zandt, Tom Waits and Howlin’ Wolf among others. But the album maintains a pretty unique style throughout, despite the range of influences.
“I was really exciting about all these artists at the time I recorded the album and I wanted to bring it all together. On the other hand I didn’t want it to sound like a Sol Hoopii cover followed by something by The Band, for example.

“I knew that the dobro and double bass were pretty distinctive. So as long as stuck to this format and didn’t mess around with backing vocals, percussion or other instruments, I could allow the influences to flow strongly and still create a valuable, clearly defined sound of my own.”

Good Times is very laid back album, are you that laid back day to day?
“The album sounds like how I felt when I was recording it; by myself, snowed in, no-one to talk to, but with all the time in the world to write, play and record. I was emotional, nostalgic, excited, inspired; I had a supply of whiskey and I was relaxed.

“But at the same time I was very focussed on what I was doing. It felt good and right to be putting down these recordings.”

There’s an effortless quality to it despire the complexity of the playing. Did the parts come easy?
“Definitely, songs that had been bothering me for months came together easily. I recorded all the vocals in one three-hour drunken session, most are first takes. They came out croaky and a bit sloppy, but the recordings captured a feeling that I’d like to remember. I knew that if I went back to it afterwards, I’d risk losing that.”

Who would you like to work with?
“A lot of the people I’d really love to work with seem to have died recently, like some of the original calysonians and blues players. But a great piano player would be good - Pinetop Perkins is still playing, I hear.”

Where can we see you next?
“Well, I’m currently re-wiring and plumbing my house and deciding if the bassment is going to be a flat or a recording studio, and musing on the next album. So first I need to work out how this boiler is going to fit under the stairs.”

For more info on Naughty Jack, go and check out his official website.


Good Times

Wang Dang Doodle 2008, Audio CD, £17.99

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