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Self release [Release date 04.08.23]
The UK West Midlands based Rumour revel in West Coast swept soft rock with Americana style imagery.
They mix a acoustic-into-electric style musical landscape mixing a lightness of touch with tougher Brit blues-rock influences in 70’s sounding arrangements, topped by significant guitar solos.
The band is built round vocalist Liz Nichols whose warm vocal style is akin to cup of hot cocoa on a wintry night, and reminds me of Heart’s Ann Wilson Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nick and more esoterically Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano.
Her musical and life partner is guitarist Pete Brookes who weaves his guitar parts into the fabric of 10 mellifluous tracks which he frequently resolves with slow building imperious solos.
He is also the principal songwriter, with occasional help from Phil Thompson, Phi Jones and Liz, whose phrasing brings the lyrics alive.
The whole album ebbs and flows like a musical journey which is seamlessly glued together by Owen Davidson’s aching bass lines. He finds the perfect foil in the percussive snap of Tony Dickenson, while keyboard player Dave Williams straddles the roles of accompanist and soloist, his best work being when he coalesces with Brooks’ guitar lines.
It’s an album built on the thematic unity of time, love and a restlessness all stirred by the need to travel. The narratives are never too far removed from the concept of a river in representing how life is constantly moving in multiple ways.
The river is used as a metaphor on three songs, conjoining the themes of change, spiritual guidance, broken relationships and the afore mentioned restlessness feel.
On ‘Every Time You Go Away’ the river is used as an expressed metaphor in the line; “Tears flow like a river”. It’s also a song with an eerie feel about unrequited love; “Wandering through the cold empty streets, chasing ghosts of memories, In secret places we would meet, Stolen moments lost in time…”
The album’s intricate West Coast feel takes its time to ignite because the opening rocker ‘Hard Time Coming’ suffers from a muddied mix with Liz’s vocal mixed too far back.
It’s offset by her use of a double layered vocal, which is a recurring presence in the album.
‘Every Time You Go Away’ has greater sonic clarity with the acoustic guitar being pushed higher up in the mix over a distant pedal steel, and you can feel the band straining to achieve a mellifluous wash of sound.
Better still is the outstanding ‘This Heart’, a sumptuous rock ballad cushioned by Owen Davidson’s fretless bass. It generates heft through an introductory solo with a fulsome tone, while Liz’s vocal is closer to centre of the mix.
The bigger sounding and lyrically portentous ‘After The Fire’ opens with a church organ, while drummer Dickenson provides relentless drive on a track featuring a layered sound, sparkling harmonies and two glistening solos.
Given the fact that the album relies on several similar tension building arrangements, the question is does the band do enough musically to support Liz’s vocal.
And the answer as evidenced by the sludgy blues of ‘Medicine Show’ is a resounding yes, as everything flows towards a cleaner toned intense guitar solo.
A trio of river songs thematically anchor the album. The title track relies of double vocal lines and cool band interplay to nail a narrative full of southern imagery.
‘Down To The River’ is equally lyrically evocative, but also more derivative: “Going down to the river to wash my soul clean.”
But they go on to engage us on another musical level through deep grooves, heartfelt vocals, a layered organ and a raft of expressive solos.
‘The River Winds On’ cleverly evokes the flow of the river and the themes of movement, change and time which lie at the core of the album.
‘Raised On River Blues’ is Heritage Rock at its best. There’s an underlying familiarity to the music, shaped by aspirational and uplifting hooks with enough resolving solos to satisfy lovers of the post-Kossoff school of Dad Rock.
It’s an album made with love and precision, even if they occasionally don’t always realise their musical ambitions, as on the 3 vocal harmony wobble on the climax of ‘Good Day For The Blues’ (not to be confused with the Storyville song).
‘Raised On River Blues’ is only a bigger production short of being an outstanding album.
For a second album, it represents a major step forward, with stronger songs, a layered sound and a willingness to embrace a rootsy cross-genre approach topped by uplifting hooks.
The end result is an unhurried musical journey which like a tidal motion flows naturally into ‘Stars’, a closing track forged by a subtle mélange of acoustic, strings and call and response vocals.
The song much like the album as a whole, is built on a duality which contrasts the reflective lyrics with uplifting musical arrangements.
It’s a combination that serves the band well on an impressive album. ****
Review by Pete Feenstra
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 7 April 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 2 April 2024.
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THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
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12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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