Self release [Release date : 19.09.26]

Having made his name with an impressive back catalogue of some 17 albums, in which he’s moved effortlessly though imagery-laden Americana, with all shades of blues, country and even jazzy influences, Richard Townsend and his long-time band The Mighty Bosscats settle on a song-driven album with Mark Knopfler influenced guitar parts.

In many respects ‘Normal’ is a folk influenced album with poignant songs, full of gritty narratives, social commentary, personal reflection, concise arrangements and fine band interplay, all glued together by a sense of restraint.

Indeed, his understated feel helps focus our attention on what is essentially a concept album about our times.

The title track illustrates the point. Lyrically there’s a sense of irony which bubbles up throughout the album, calling into question what we mean by “normal.”

The song itself opens with Matt Gillam’s bass-led pulse, on a restrained track which makes good use of bv’s, processed voices and a belated rap style finish on which the narrator reflects that: “Someone’s truth is not so true, And Normal’s gone to Margate to retire.”

Townsend has a great way with one liners and occasional refrains which sum up the true meaning or feel of a song. This is particularly so on the stop-time, riff driven ‘It Never Rains It Pours’.

There’s a line in the song which seems to resonate with the album title as a whole; “Everything was settled in its own particular way.” It seems to capture a feeling that ‘Normal’ is in some ways an oppressive description of our collective reality.

The reflective song enjoys a snappy arrangement, but struggles to find a salient melody, even after jangling guitar break with echoes of Andy Summers at the 3.07 mark.

Then there’s ‘I Won’t Ever Doubt it’, which is a greasy groove, with Knopler spoken word style vocals, topped by another insightful line: “Maybe reading words that don’t appear on a page we shared together.”

The impressive opener ‘Mary Mary’ is a Mark Knopfler influenced groove with whispered vocals, an engaging narrative, a catchy hook and sinewy guitar, which finishes on a depressing, but reflective refrain: “Its ground hog day, she gets him to pay, At a bar where dreams go to sleep.”

There are several Ken Loach (film director) moments like that, when Townsend highlights an underlying duality which anchors the album as a whole.

On the one hand there’s an inspirational approach, as in ‘Normal is, as normal does’, but as many of his song suggest, there’s a constant struggle for consistency.

Happily, he doesn’t so much preach, as simply illuminate situations for our perusal.

‘Deliciously Insane’, for example, is another song for our times, but there’s a curious disconnect between the music and the message.

The wispy guitar part, windswept and spooky, if not austere feel, doesn’t evoke the faux warm feeling of being suckered in by a charismatic fraudster, though as always, Townend delivers lyrically: “The Crazy words you say makes perfect sense in my crazy heart It’s like I am watching a confident me in a mirror.”

‘Tic Toc’ again offers relevant social commentary, on how social media encourages social fragmentation, which in the context of the album as a whole, might be considered the “new normal”.

There’s a neat combination of Mark Hall’s tic-toc snare (which evokes the sense of running out of time) and Townend’s jangling guitar, on a song with a folky feel.

He adds a brief upper register vocal for further emphasis, with cooing bv’s, and another stinging lyric: “Anonymous lives with no redress of actions of their words Attention seekers with cruelty kicks and tribal validation.”

The album never ventures too far from a minimalist feel, right down to the art work aesthetic, but on ‘Fix A Broken Mind’ he presents us with the moment when his words and music coalesce beautifully.

The song again focuses on an underlying duality of life, thus: “But one person’s sustenance is a poison to the rest, And some people have grandeur and a stoic resolution, And others close their eyes to see the obvious intended solution.”

He’s unafraid to follow where his verity leads him, which in musical terms means he distantly references the Beatles on ‘Blue Is You’ alongside an unlikely fusion of Mark Knopfler guitar and a Frank Ifield falsetto.

‘Fly High’ by contrast, offers a welcome shot of optimism on a coming of age song.

It’s counterweighted by the loneliness of being alone in a big city, on another example of the duality underscoring album in general and the concept of ‘Normal’ in particular.

The fact that Townend consistently serves his songs throughout, means that we can’t expect lush arrangements with colourful vistas.

He chooses instead to let a twisting and turning musical landscape populated by brief, but significant guitar flurries, occasionally grooves and rich vocal harmonies to help evoke lyrical meaning and feel.

In short, ‘Normal’ is an uncompromising album of our times, shot through with true Yorkshire grit, but filtered through a worldwide perspective in search of quality and truth. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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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 30 August 2026.

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Power Plays w/c 14 September 2026

MUDDSHOVEL Third Time Today (Epictronic)
SCANDROID Jericho (FiXT Music)
TAKIDA In Your Bed (Napalm Records)
MYRATH Shape Of My Heart (earMUSIC)
HOKKA Vampire (Nuclear Blast Records)
HOLLOW PACT Witchking (Sumerian Records)
RETURN TO ZERO Dark Matter (Eve Music)
MMMR MUSIC Fire’s Still Burning (Duckfat Records)

Featured Albums w/c 14 September 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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