Album review: CERI JUSTICE – Walk In Shadow

www.cerijustice.rocks [Release date 15.04.22]

Here at GRTR! it doesn’t really matter that we are reviewing an album nearly 12 months old. If it comes to our attention belatedly and is meritorious, we do it. It was Pete Feenstra playing a track in his weekly Rock & Blues Show (Get Ready to ROCK! Radio) that made me revisit this singer songwriter’s sophomore release.

The song Pete played – ‘Shipwrecked’ – was actually from her 2019 debut and is a standout with a vocal delivery not dissimilar to a less warbly Stevie Nicks and punctuated by mournful strings.

‘Walk In Shadow’ is a solid album and hopefully moves Midlands-based Ceri nearer to where she wants to be. It’s a combination of upbeat, catchy tunes (like opener ‘Wanted’) and the darker (like the standout title track). The instrumentation is mainly jaunty and the violin omnipresent. All credit to Paul Johnston who has provided most of the instrumentation.

Basically Ceri can rock when necessary and calm down when appropriate. But whilst the whole is very melodic and very appealing there are a few average tracks such as ‘You Did What You Did’ and the somewhat throwaway ‘Mess You Up’. To be honest, it’s all very seventies.

I wonder if Ceri is not quite sure of which audience she wishes to capture. A cover of ‘Jolene’ takes her down a country route along with ‘Love Let Me Down’ and to a lesser extent ‘Got This Feeling’.

Another cover ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do’ boosts Ceri’s soft rock credentials but the real “killer” is ‘Walk In Shadow’. This stretches to epic proportions (nearly eight minutes) and if nothing else shows Ceri’s versatility. The vocal here reminds of Jan Johnston, one time a member of the very fine early 1990s band JJ. The next album will hopefully consolidate the strengths but for the meantime definitely a meritorious album. ***1/2

Review by David Randall

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 20 October 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 22 October 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
RIOGHAN Hands (Inverse Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)