Album review: DERECHO – Beneath A Stained Glass Sky

www.derecho.band [Release date 16.11.19]

Oh dear, there’s always added pressure when a band sends a direct copy of their latest album for review. No one, not even seasoned GRTR! reviewers, wants to tell proud parents that their baby is never going to win a ‘beautiful baby’ competition.

But as luck would have it, the third album from female fronted, Cambridgeshire-based rockers Derecho is no ‘minger’.

That said, they’re not going to win too many plaudits for originality with a set that’s rooted in the pop/rock of the late seventies/early eighties. But it’s eminently listenable with singer, songwriter and keyboard player (and Manager!) Jo Ash doing a more than able job of fronting up the band.

What most reviewers will agree on these days, is that the crucial element of any release is material, material, and material. And in that respect Beneath A Stained Glass Sky is what you might expect of a set influenced by the likes of Blondie, Kate Bush, Siouxsie Sioux, Evanescence and the like.

The opener, the crunchy ‘You Stole My Night’ doffs a cap to Pat Benatar, youthful Kate Bush ‘whoops’ and vocal inflections permeate the set, and there’s even a nod to Pink Floyd in the bluesy opening refrains of ‘Blue Heart’.

But ultimately, despite likely being a lively and entertaining live draw, there’s an absence of any ‘killer’ material that even ‘back in the day’ might have brought headliner success. But if you’ve got a soft spot for the late seventies/early eighties check out Derecho. ***

Review by Pete Whalley

Derecho launch their album on November 16 at The Blue Moon, Cambridge

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