Here we have the debut album by the Birmingham-based trio of Owen Davidson (vocals, bass), Ben Bicknell (guitar) and Ellis Brown (drums). Davidson has worked with Uli Jon Roth, while he and Ben were in the Glenn Hughes tribute act Black Country Community, so know each other well. I have long thought that power trios are the ultimate format as there is never any room to hide, and from Hendrix through Cream and ZZ Top to Rush this has been proved time and again. However, for me there is a very under-rated British trio which this band have taken as their blueprint, namely the incredible Trapeze. Surely there can be no coincidence that the first song on this album is “Medusa Touch”, while the first album Trapeze released as a trio was ‘Medusa’ in 1970.
It takes a special kind of singer to try and emulate Hughes, who has long been one of the finest singers in the business, yet Davidson does so effortlessly and then throws in a funky bass line which allows him to play between drums and guitars, creating the platform for Bicknell to lay down some solos and riffs which make us think he cut his teeth on Billy Gibbons and is channelling the spirit of Stevie Ray Vaughan. This is blues rock with funk and soul, taking us back more than 50 years to a time when it really mattered, where all one can do is get into the groove and keep turning it up. This never seems as if it is a debut release, as it is polished and refined, yet still raw and powerful. Dramatic and interesting, listen to this with a smile and play it loud.
Rating: 8/10