Quick plays: HORSE PARTY, ELIZA NEALS, CHRISTA COUTURE

Horse Party - Horizons

HORSE PARTY Horizons
REPEAT Records [Release date 01.04.16]

Bury St Edmunds three-piece rockers, fronted by guitarist/singer Ellie Langley have been getting plenty of plaudits over the past 12 months from the likes of 6music, Radio One, and Radio X.

Formed in 2012 when Langley and bass/keyboardist Seymour Quigley met drummer Shannon Hope, a string of self-released singles and EPs ensued, followed by a well-received debut album Cover Your Eyes (although it ran to only 8 tracks and just over 30 minutes).

Horizons cleverly brings together the 12 tracks that have featured on the band’s singles and EPs released during 2015, and throws in one unreleased track for good measure (‘For All I Know’).

Minimalist production and sparse playing, driving rhythms and with the intensity of PJ Harvey, it’s an impressive effort and easy to see why the band would be popular amongst festival goers and almost inevitable for a spot on the next series of Later…

Probably of more interest to those in between 20 and 30, than the GRTR! baby boomer generation. ***

Review by Pete Whalley

Eliza Neals - Breaking And Entering

ELIZA NEALS Breaking And Entering
EH records [Release date 15.04.16]

Pairing up with fellow Detroit player, blues guitarist Howard Glazer, Eliza Neal delivers paint stripping performance on her latest release.

I was little worried on the acoustic opening stomp ‘Detroit Drive’, that we were in for a Seasick Steve-type set. But the raw, electrified twelve bar blues title track puts that misdemeanour right. And from thereon in the pace rarely slackens throughout this high energy set.

Recorded at vintage analogue studios, Breaking And Entering is unashamed ‘back to basics’ blues/rock with Neals’ gritty, whisky-soaked vocals very much from the Janis Joplin ‘school of rock’. She’s probably the rock chick thatwe all secretly hoped Joss Stone would turn out to be.

Kid Rocks guitarist Kenny Olson features on a couple of tracks adding a splash of southern rock style to ‘You’, and ‘Southern Comfort Dreams’. If there’s a complaint, the material is very ‘bog standard’ despite the quality of the playing. A top notch producer like David Tyson (Alannah Myles) could probably have pulled a whole lot more out of it and fashioned into one hell of an album.

But as it stands, Breaking And Entering fails to make it over the line. As far as the vocals go though, there’s only one way to describe them: ‘raunchy’. ***

Review by Pete Whalley

Eliza Neals plays UK dates 5-12 May 2016

Christa Couture - Long Time Leaving

CHRISTA COUTURE Long Time Leaving
Black Hen Music [Release date 20.05.16]

I can do little better here than to echo the words Couture’s PR company have highlighted from my review of her last album (The Living Record, 2013) to promote the Canadian singer songwriter’s latest release:

‘With a vulnerable vocal style not a zillion miles removed from that of Tori Amos, and an eclectic range of styles from country, folk, Cajun and roots to country rock it’s a set that fans of female singer songwriters who sit just left of centre the likes of Amos, Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette would be well advised to explore.’

Those sentiments remains equally true of Long Time Leaving where Couture continues to seamlessly flit across the genres like a grieving butterfly. Coming on the back of a relationship break-up, it’s a remarkably upbeat affair. But then considering the personal tragedies that have littered this young woman’s life, heartache is a relatively modest loss.

Quirky, kooky, whimsical, call it what you will, Long Time Leaving is another strong offering that sees Couture take a tentative step towards the mainstream. ***

Review by Pete Whalley

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.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

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 3 November 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 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch 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)